The Beginning
by TeamPepperwood
Summary: The beginning of every relationship comes with it's own unique challenges. Nick and Jess are no different. Multi-Chapter summer hiatus fic.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**

**Hey Roomfriends! I know I said I would have two little one shots coming… and then school happened so, sorry! But I'm back with a new one now! This one will be a multi chapter fic, I don't have a clear ending yet, but I have several chapters mapped out already. I hope to update at least once or twice a week! So stay tuned.**

**This picks up right after the season finale! It's not very long, it's just a little preamble, but future chapters will be longer. I hope you like! **

**I do not own New Girl, I'm not that awesome.**

Chapter 1:

Their playful bickering had stopped a few minutes into the drive and Nick had taken his three right turns while Jess sat on the passenger seat rolling her eyes, a giant grin still plastered to her face. Suddenly Nick reached out and took her hand in his and their fingers intertwined. He brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed each knuckled as Jess sucked in her breath, her eyes darkening. He better get home soon, she thought.

Nick grinned over at Jess, his eyes sparkling with what appeared to be laughter mixed with desire. He still couldn't believe that Jess had waited for him. That it was Jess who had put it all out there. He knew what he had wanted, but had no idea that she wanted the same thing. To try. To at least try to see what they could make of whatever the hell this was.

A light drizzle had begun to fall, one of those rare LA rains that nobody expects. Nick switched on the windshield wipers, still clutching Jess's hand in his. It was quiet in the car, Jess realized, a little too quiet. She reached over with her free hand an switched on the radio and smiled at the song that came on.

_"This is the start of something beautiful. This is the start of something new…"_ crooned through the speaker as Jess and Nick both began to laugh. Seriously?

"Wow." Jess shook her head. Nick beamed over at her again. He lifted their joined hands to brush a strand of hair out of Jess's eyes as Jess sighed.

It was full on raining by the time Nick pulled into a parking spot near the loft. He looked up at the window and saw that their apartment was dark. Nobody was home.. Winston was probably at the hospital. Nick made a mental note to call him in a few hours to make sure that he was ok. Schmidt… Schmidt was probably off hiding somewhere trying to avoid both Cece and Elizabeth.

Nick and Jess would have the loft all to themselves. Nick silently cheered in his head.

Nick turned the car off and ran around to the other side, getting soaked in the process but determined to do the gentlemanly thing and open the door for Jess. She was laughing by the time he reached the other side and pulled her door open. Jess's laughing stopped. Nick's white shirt was soaked through, and Nick Miller in a soaked through white shirt was definitely something she needed to see more of.

Nick was smiling as he rounded the car and pulled the door open. His smile faded when he saw Jess's darkened eyes staring at his chest. He reached for Jess, pulling her out of the car. He quickly closed the door and backed her into it. Nick captured Jess's mouth with his as Jess wrapped her arms around his neck. The kiss was passionate and eager. It was a promise of what was to come that night.

Jess groaned, her hands had moved to Nick's neck and his hands roamed her back. The rain fell on and around them, soaking through their clothes but the couple didn't care. The stayed plastered like that for awhile, until Jess shivered. Nick pulled away, planted a kiss on Jess's forehead, grabbed her hand and ran for the lobby door.

They raced through the door, shoving it open so hard that it slammed agains the wall, making the two erupt into a fit of laughter. They quickly walked to the elevator and Nick pressed the button, taping his foot impatiently, but they didn't have to wait long. A few seconds later the elevator dinged and the doors opened. Jess shoved Nick into the elevator and this time it was she who backed him into the wall, reaching it and pressing the button for 4. Nick's eyes widened and his grin grew broader as Jess moulded her body into his, placed her hands on the bak of Nick's neck, stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him, hard.

Nick moaned into Jess's mouth as he spun her around into another wall, pressing her back up against it. What was it with them and elevators? Jess thought quickly but the thought soon vanished as Nick's hand crept inside her soaking Sari and reached for places she longed for him to touch. She gasped as Nick's hand closed around her breast and she pressed it harder into his palm.

The elevator doors dinged open and the two stumbled through the hall to apartment 4D, the mouths never leaving one anothers. Hands roamed and caressed, Jess had ripped the top buttons of Nick's shirt open when suddenly Nick dragged his mouth off of hers and cursed.

"Shit." He gasped, out of breath. Jess looked up at him, her hands clutching his belt, lips swollen from their kisses.

"What? What is it?" Jess didn't know what was going through Nick's head, but she did not like that the foreplay had stopped.

Nick closed his eyes, placing his forehead against hers. "Your dad."

"Nick, I told you. I don't care what my dad…"

"No it's not that." Nick sighed. "What if he's in there? We can't…"

"Dammit!" Jess cursed softly pulling away from Nick. She had forgotten all about her father, he could be in there asleep for all Jess knew. She reached for the handle and turned back to Nick. "Stay here and be the lookout… I'm going to go check…" She opened the door quietly and looked inside. So far so good. Jess looked back at Nick and gave him a cheeky thumbs up before she slipped inside.

Nick shuffled on his feet, waiting for Jess to return, hoping, praying that Bob wasn't inside. That he was off somewhere drinking or… actually, he didn't much care where Bob was as long as he was out of the apartment.

A minute later, Jess returned and gave him a sly smile. She grabbed his hand and led him inside., closing the door behind him. "All clear." She grinned up at Nick. The two stood their staring at one another, taking in the wet clothes, the mussed hair. Jess reached up and smoothed Nick's had back and Nick wiped a trail of water off of her cheek from the rain Both touches were gentle and Jess felt her heartbeat pick up. Nick reached for Jess and she came willingly to him, melting into his arms. Their mouths joined once again, but unlike their last kiss this one was different. It wasn't fast, but slow. Full of meaning and promise.

But, like all their kisses, the slow, gentleness didn't last long. Soon their mouths were tearing at each other again. Jess reached up, ripping the rest of the buttons open on his dress shirt. Nick reached down and cursed, fumbling with the Sari. How the hell do you get this thing off?!

Jess laughed into Nick's mouth before placing a gentle kiss on Nick's lips. "Come on." she said walking towards her bedroom. "I'll show you how you can get this thing off." She walked off ahead of Nick, shaking her hips like one of those eerily sexual disney characters. Nick was mesmerized for a second before he swallowed hard and followed her into her bedroom.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

"Jess?"

A gentle knock came early the next morning. Jess awoke slowly, not sure if she had imagined it or not. She took in her surroundings: pale light was streaming through her window, the bedspread was on the floor along with various articles of clothing… oh! And a naked Nick Miller slept soundly next to her, the sheet covering the lower half of his body.

Then the knock came again. "Jessica?"

Jess bolted upright in her bed, clutching the sheet to herself. "Dad!" She reached over and slapped the sleeping figure next to her causing Nick to groan. "Shhhh!" she whispered over at Nick before shouting at her father. "Uh… give me a second to get dressed!" Jess saw Nick's eyes widen in panic before he fumbled with the sheet, catching it on his foot, and fell out of bed, landing hard on the floor.

"Jess, are you ok in there?" Bob said, concern lacing his voice.

"Fine! I'm fine. Just tripped. Hold on, I'm coming!" Jess shot Nick a panicked look before jumping out of bed and throwing his pants at him.

"Closet!" She whispered urgently grabbing Nick's boxers and tossing them at him while picking up her ruined, rain soaked Sari and throwing it in the hamper on the far side of the room. She couldn't throw that back on.

"Closet?!" Nick whispered back at Jess, full on turtle faced as he put his boxers on. "Really Jess?" He noticed his shirt was in a wet heap, half under her bed and threw it over himself. Half of the buttons were missing. Jess had practically ripped all of them off last night. Nick gave a wry smile. Totally worth it.

Jess grabbed a pair of PJ's out of her dresser, the one Nick had built for her, and threw the shirt on. "You have a better idea?" she whispered back at him, taking note of the time. 8:00 in the morning. They hadn't fallen asleep until close to 4. It was way too early for this.

Nick rolled his eyes, grabbed his pants and hustled into the closet, closing the door silently in front of him. Jess put on her PJ pants and rushed over to the mirror. Sex hair. She had full on sex hair. "Damn." She whispered. Jess had never seen her hair this tangled and matted. She grabbed her brush and swiped through her hair quickly making it look as presentable as possible before hustling to the door. She looked around the room to make sure that Nick had grabbed all his clothes and all evidence of last nights activities was gone before opening the bedroom door to reveal her father.

Jess let out a fake yawn. "Hey dad." she croaked at him, noticing the suitcase in his hand. "Oh, is it time for you to leave?" Jess asked.

"Yeah, the taxi is waiting for me outside." Bob scrutinized his daughter. "Are you ok?"

Jess gave her father a quizzical look. "I'm fine. Why?"

"You look… different."

Jess hid a grin. She felt different. Good different. Well, a night with Nick Miller would do that to a girl. Jess smiled at her father. "I'm good, dad. Seriously."

"Well, if you say so. Where is everyone?" Bob said motioning towards the living room. "Nobody came home last night. The only reason I knew you were here was because your car was outside."

"Nobody came home?" Jess's brows shot up. Where the hell were Schmidt and Winston? Just then, a phone rang. A loud beeping, coming from the closet. It wasn't Jess's phone and she closed her eyes in despair and bit her lip. Damn!

In the closet, Nick's eyes bugged out of his head. "Shit!" he whispered, struggling to get the device out of his pants pocket. The shrill beeping continued for what seemed like ages until Nick finally managed to wrangle the thing. He quickly silenced it and looked at the missed call log. Winston. A voicemail alert popped up and Nick turned the volume down as low as he could, pressing the button to listen and holding the phone to his ear.

"Whose phone is that?" Bob said noticing Jess's bunny phone on her nightstand.

Jess thought fast. "Oh, uh, it might be Nick's. He asked me to hold onto it yesterday and I put it in my purse. Actually, ya, it's still in there, he never came and got it." Jess said as the ringing in the closet stopped. Bob gave his daughter a skeptical look, but luckily he didn't question it.

"Oh… ok. Well, I have to head out." Bob reached forward and hugged his daughter. "You just… be careful, ok? Don't… just be careful." Bob threw a look at Nick's room. "I mean it."

Jess gave her father a wry smile. "I will dad. I promise."

Bob nodded once and headed for the door. "Say bye to Schmidt and Wilson for me!" he shouted over his shoulder before opening the door and leaving the loft.

Jess let out a sigh of relief and turned to see Nick poking his head out of the closet. "Are we clear?" He whispered.

"Yeah." Jess walked over and pulled the door open all the way. "Who called?"

"Winston." Nick walked out of the closet and sat on the edge of her bed, rubbing his face. "I need to go pick him up from the hospital. He sounded pretty drugged."

Jess's eyes bugged out of her head. "Hospital?! What happened?!" Jess stood in front of Nick, who looked up at her.

"I didn't tell you?" Nick asked and Jess shook her head. "The badger bit him."

"WHAT?!" Jess practically shouted.

"Yeah." Nick sighed. "He was bleeding at the bar when I left him yesterday."

Jess furrowed her brow. "You left him…."

"I left him to find you." Nick smiled up at her. "He gave the the shove that I needed to run out of that hotel to find you. Said it was fine… obviously it wasn't." Nick sighed. "I should shower and go…" He said and stood up.

Jess made a mental note to bake Winston his favorite dessert later that night. She smiled at Nick who beamed down at her. Jess reached up and smoothed his hair back from his face, letting her hand trail down his cheek. "I'm glad he did." she breathed reaching up and giving Nick a soft kiss. He put his hands on her waist as Jess brought her other arm up and wrapped it around his neck.

"Me too." Nick said, leaning his forehead against hers. The stood like that for a minute, just breathing each other in until Jess heard a beep coming from her phone.

"What now?" Jess sighed closing her eyes. She gave Nick a quick kiss before breaking away and grabbing her phone from the nightstand. It was text from Cece and it only said one word.

_HELP._

Jess grimaced at the phone. She had left Cece all alone after her disaster of a wedding to clean up the mess. Jess could only imagine what she was going through right now. Some Maid of Honor she was.

"Whats up?" Nick said from behind her. Jess turned and passed him the phone. He glanced down at it, quickly reading the text and his eyebrows shot up. "Well that sounds ominous."

Jess made a face at Nick and ran her hand through her hair. "Yeah. I should go. I need to shower and see what I could do to help."

Nick grinned at Jess. "Ya know… I need to shower, you need to shower." He hooked his index fingers into the waist of Jess's pajama pants and pulled her closer. "We should shower together. For the environment."

Jess laughed. "The environment?" She grinned at Nick, her eyes shinning with mischief.

"Yeah." Nick's hands traveled from her pants to her stomach as Jess placed her palms on his chest. "Water conservation and all that…"

Jess raised her eyebrows and giggled grabbing one of his hands from under her shirt. "Well… as long as it's for the environment."

The two burst into laughter as they joined hands and ran to the bathroom.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**

**Hey guys! So Here's chapter 3! In case you haven't noticed, I have this thing for making out in water: rain, showers, what have you. So… thats happening. Also, this chapter has less Nick and Jess in it. It's more of a catching up with the rest of the gang chapter.**

**Also: the TV show referenced (not by name, and some of you could probably figure it out) is The Mindy Project. A line in one of the episodes just reminded me of the whole opening scene so I had to use it.**

**Enjoy! Review! Please let me know what you think! I really do love feedback!**

**Once again, I do not own New Girl. At all.**

Chapter 3:

Ten minutes into the shower and the couple were throughly enjoying themselves. Nick had backed Jess into a wall, the water streaming down both of them as their lips locked together in one of the most passionate kisses they had ever shared. Jess remembered a scene from some sitcom where they were mentioned how showers weren't sexy because while one person was warm under the stream, the other was left freezing waiting for their turn. Obviously, Jess thought, they weren't doing it right as the two were both very warm.

Nick bent and lifted Jess who wrapped her legs around his waist. She groaned into Nick's mouth as his hands traveled up her sides and into her hair, tilting her head to the side so he could trace kisses down her neck and shoulder. Jess gasped, running her hands along his back. Jess only let him get away with that for a moment before fisting her hands in his hair and yanking his mouth back to hers.

"NICK!" The door to the bathroom banged open.

Jess and Nick froze, mouths still locked together, but eyes now open and gazing at each other in panic and frustration. Dammit! Schmidt had to be the master of interruptions.

"Nick are you in here?" Schmidt called.

Nick carefully and quietly set Jess back down on the shower floor and looked at her, eyes wide. "What do I do?" he mouthed at Jess who shook her head and mouthed " I don't know!"

"Nick, man, come on! I know you're in there." Schmidt sounded frustrated and defeated. "I really need to talk to someone. I'm all confounded."

Jess grimaced at Nick. "Just, say something!" she mouthed.

"What's up, Schmidt?" Nick said, poking his head out of the shower. Jess hid behind him, out of Schmidt's eye line.

"Oh thank god, Nick. I… I don't know what to do. I… Cece told me she wants to be with me. Cece. But I'm with Elizabeth, who is amazing, and extraordinary. But… it's Cece and…" Schmidt kept rambling on while Nick listened, but Jess was somewhat preoccupied with the view she was currently enjoying. It should be illegal for the someone's back to be so attractive, yet Jess was completely turned on by the one Nick was displaying in front of her.

"Schmidt, can we talk about this later? I'm kinda in the middle of something…" Nick interrupted motioning his head back toward the shower.

"Your shower can wait, Nicholas. I'm in the middle of a romantic dilemma!"

Jess rolled her eyes. That was enough.

"Hey Schmidt." Jess said, poking her head out of the curtain with Nick's. "I understand that you want to talk but this is getting very awkward and the water is starting to get cold, so if you could just give us ten minutes…"

"Fifteen minutes." Nick said grinning

Jess beamed. "Fifteen minutes, that would be really great."

Schmidt's eyes widened and shifted from Nick's face, to Jess'. He raised his right hand and pointed at Nick, then Jess… then back at Nick again.

"What. The. Hell?" Schmidt emphasized each word his eyebrows raised all the way to his hair line. "What is THIS? You two are violating the shower rules!" Schmidt glared at them, hands on hips.

"There are shower rules?" Jess asked looking over at Nick who rolled his eyes.

"Schmidt there are no shower rules and you know it." Nick glared back at Schmidt.

Schmidt threw his hands up. "What is happening here? I'm going to have to disinfect that whole shower now that you two have shamed the bathroom. I cannot believe that you two are doing the bangity bang in the shower that we all share! Not to mention…."

Jess stopped him. "First of all, jar." Schmidt gasped as if she would dare jar him after their so obvious violation. "Second, I get it. This is… well… awkward and new and… well, you're just going to have to get used to it. Now, if you'll excuse us…" Jess pulled Nick back into the shower, grabbing her loofah and the soap.

"THIS ISN'T OVER JESSICA DAY! AND STAY AWAY FROM MY BODY GELATO!" Schmidt shouted as he slammed the bathroom door shut on Jess and Nick's giggling.

* * *

An hour later, Jess was rushing through the hall of Cece's apartment complex. She reached the door and lifted her hand to knock but before she could wrap her knuckles against the door it was thrown open by a disheveled Cece. Jess's eyes widened in shock. Cece's normally maintained hair was a mass of tangles and was sticking up at odd angles. Her makeup, which she hadn't removed from yesterday was smudged around her eyes. And she was in sweat pants. Cece never wore sweat pants. She looked like wild woman.

"Where the hell have you been?!" Cece yelled a Jess's eyes widened even more and she put both of her hands up. Cece rolled her eyes and threw the door open for Jess, walking back into her living room.

Jess quickly walked inside and took in the sight in front of her. There were presents. Everywhere. On the floor, the couch, the the dining room table, strewn throughout the hall to Cece and Nadia's bedrooms. On the counter there was a wedding cake and platters of food that had obviously been meant for the long forgotten reception. Cece sat in the middle of the mess on the floor, head in hands.

"Oh…. ok. Um…" Jess didn't even know where to begin with this mess. She sat cross legged on the floor in front of Cece, tossing her purse to the side. She gently pried Cece's hands away from her head. Cece looked up at and Jess could see the stress in her eyes.

"Cece… what…?" Jess began but stopped. What was she even supposed to say here?

"I know, it's a mess." Cece sighed, shoulders slumping. "I don't even know where to start here! I have all these gifts that need to be sent back, enough food to feed everyone in downtown for days, I haven't showered or slept and I'm… Jess I'm freaking out here!" Cece shouted, waving her arms in panic.

"Ok ok… calm down." Jess said soothingly. She stood up and pulled Cece with her. "Go shower." Jess noticed the brown packing boxes and tape in one corner. "I'll start getting the presents in order."

Cece sighed in relief. "Thank you, Jess." She hugged her best friend before pulling away, her hands on her shoulders. "You really are the best, you know that right?"

Jess smiled. "Yup."

Cece laughed and headed toward the bathroom. A moment later, Jess heard the door click and the shower start. She maneuvered her way through the gift strewn floor to the kitchen and made herself a quick cup of tea. When Jess opened the fridge, she saw there was even more food in there and shook her head. Then she thought better of it, noting she hadn't eaten since breakfast yesterday, and grabbed what appeared to be crab puffs and set them on a plate. When everything was ready about 5 minutes later, the shower was still running and Jess sat herself on the floor, brown packing boxes to one side, food on the coffee table in front of her.

When Cece appeared about a half hour later, Jess was in the middle of packing a present away. She had made a slight dent in the number of gifts needing to be packed up, but there was still much more work to do. Jess looked up at Cece and smiled. "Better?" She asked.

"Much. Thanks." Cece plopped down next Jess, stealing one of the crab puffs off her plate and taking a bite. "Ok, where are we?"

"I've done about 15, but this pile seems to be endless. Here." Jess said, tossing a box at Cece. "Start on that side." Jess pointed to the other side of the couch.

The two worked methodically. Soon the pile was substantially lessened, and Jess and Cece kept working.

"Are you humming '_Cotton Eye Joe_?'" Cece asked hours later, raising her eyebrows at Jess.

"Hmmm… What? Am I?" Jess asked. She hadn't even noticed. Cece shook her head at Jess, noting the small smile on her face.

"What happened to you last night? I looked for you for almost an hour." The grin on Jess's face completely answered Cece's question and she raised her eyebrows. "Oh. Nick. So…?"

Jess's eyes twinkled and she told Cece what happened. About them calling it and then uncalling it. About the kiss by the car, and then the activities in her room last night. About how her father had almost caught them in bed together and the shower sex, which, she explained, was why it took her so long to get there.

"Well, at least you had a good reason." Cece grinned at Jess, genuinely happy for her.

Jess piled another box near the door and grabbed the next one. "It's been… crazy. I mean, just a few months ago we were just friends and now… Well, I'm not sure exactly what we are, we haven't had a chance to actually talk about it… "Jess trailed off and grimaced. They really hadn't done much talking since the wedding and… what were they?

"Jess, Nick is crazy about you. The way he looks at you, and acts around you. Remember what I told you from the start? He gets you." Cece smiled at Jess, determined to reassure her.

Jess bit her lip suddenly unsure. True, she knew Nick cared about her but… they really needed to sit and talk.

"Yeah." Jess said quickly, noticing that Cece was waiting for a response. She shook her head. Talking about Nick was confusing and she really wanted to focus on the task at hand. "Ok, last box." Jess grabbed it and packed it away, quickly writing the address of one of Cece's many relatives on the top before adding it to the pile. "Done!" She grinned, happy with her work.

"Thank God." Cece plopped down on the couch, now gift free. The pile by the door almost reached the ceiling. Jess told Cece that she would take the majority to the post office, seeing as how her car could hold more stuff, and the two loaded her vehicle. When the car was packed to the brim, Jess hugged Cece and told her she would call her tomorrow.

"Have fun with Nick!" Cece grinned at her best friend and waved her off. Jess smiled and waved back as she pointed her car westward took off toward the post office.

* * *

Nick parked in a visitors space at the hospital and leaned his head against the steering wheel. Schmidt sat in the passenger seat berating Nick about loft dynamics and violations of oaths just like he had the whole drive over and Nick was tempted to reach out and wrangle the mans neck.

"Schmidt! I swear to god, if you don't shut up I'm going to take all of your hair chutney and flush it down the toilet!" Nick shouted at him causing Schmidt's eyes to widen in alarm.

"You wouldn't dare!"

Nick growled at Schmidt as he opened the drivers side door. "Try me." Nick hopped out of the car slamming the door shut behind him as he headed toward the hospital entrance, Schmidt trailing behind him.

"All I'm saying, is that when this blows up, the loft dynamic is ruined! And then one of you is going to move out and we're going to have to vet some weird new guy… I cannot handle more stress right now Nicholas!" Schmidt glared at the back of Nick's head.

"Schmidt…" Nick said warningly.

"Fine, fine. I'll shut up but… " Nick turned and gave Schmidt a pointed look. Schmidt immediately stopped talking as they entered the hospital. It was cool inside, nurses and doctors were everywhere, the waiting area was packed. Nick hated hospitals. The smells, the sounds, the whole atmosphere just reeked of despair and death. It made Nick's stomach turn.

The two approached the the nurse at the reception area. "Excuse me." Nick said and she looked up. "We're here to pick up a friend of ours. Winston Bishop." The nurse looked at her computer and typed in Winston's name.

"Right." She said. "It looks like they just finished the discharge papers. He's on his way down."

"Thank you." Nick nodded politely at the woman and went to sit to wait for Winston. He suddenly found himself exhausted. Between the wedding and the nighttime activities with Jess, Nick had only gotten four hours of sleep and it was starting to get to him.

Ten minutes later, Winston appeared in the waiting area and approached Nick and Schmidt. "Hey guys. How are my friends? How is life. What. Is. Going. On. With. You." Winston giggled and Nick made a face at his drugged friend.

"Hey Winnie, lets uh… lets get you home." Nick said, guiding Winston by the elbow through the hospital and out the door. With the help of Schmidt, he loaded his friend into the back of the car.

"Guys…. they gave me the good drugs. I mean the GOOOOOOOD drugs." Winston giggled again and Nick rolled his eyes. This was going to be fun. "Nick… Niiiiiiiiick! Hey! Nick!" Winston started poking the back of Nick's head and Nick smacked his hand away.

"What, Winston?!" Nick shouted, turning the car out of the hospital parking lot and heading towards the loft.

"How'd it go with Jess? What happened? Did you two…." Winston made a disgusting gesture behind Nick's back that Nick caught in his review mirror.

"Winston, I don't care if you are drugged. When we get home, jar."

Schmidt then decided to pipe up from the passenger side. "Oh no, Nick. Go on. Tell him how you two violated our bathroom this morning."

"Shower sex. Nice!" Winston giggled again from the backseat and Nick grimaced.

"What Jess and I do, or don't do, is none of your damned business." He glared over at Schmidt.

"It becomes my business when I have to witness it. I could've gone my whole life with out knowing that you two are bumping uglies…. in OUR shower."

"Seriously? Jar."

Schmidt grimaced at Nick. "Seriously Nick, just… don't mess this up, alright?. Not just for your sake, but for all of ours."

Nick looked down at the wheel for a second before looking back up at the road. His thoughts were on Jess. She was too important to her to mess things up. Especially now. But he was known for being the master screw up. If there was a way to mess something up, to make things worse, Nick was usually the one who thought of it. Not this time though, he thought. He was determined to make this right, to make it work.

Nick glanced over at Schmidt. "I'm going to do my best."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**

**Hey guys! Sorry this took so long to get out. I had some school issues and then I started binge watching "The Office," getting caught up in the whole Jim/Pam relationship (which is a feelings nightmare.) **

**Anyway, here is chapter 4. It's not very long. I was going to add another part but it takes place a week later and kind of deserves it's own chapter. This chapter is the last of the "day after" chapters. The pace will start to pick up after this.**

**Enjoy, review! **

Chapter 4:

Jess arrived home a little after 7p.m, exhausted and disheveled. She closed the loft door behind her and leaned her back up against it closing her eyes and tilting her head back. Jess let out a soft sigh. It was nice and cool in the loft. It was also quiet, eerily quiet. Jess opened her eyes and squinted at her surroundings. The lights were off except for a small lamp by the dinning room table and the place was tidy.

"Nick?" Jess called out. No response. "Winston? Schmidt?"

Nobody was home, or at least, nobody was awake. Jess walked into the kitchen and spotted a note pinned onto the refrigerator with a magnet. She immediately recognized Nick's sloppy handwriting and smiled.

_Jess,_

_Hey, I got called into work. Big Bob had some sort of family emergency and they needed me to cover so I won't be home until late. Winston is asleep in his room. DON'T wake him up, whatever you do. He's on some pretty heavy medication for the badger bite and you don't want to deal with that giggling idiot. Cece called so Schmidt took off. The loft is pretty much yours. Don't do anything I wouldn't do. Which isn't much, but still._

_-Nick_

_P.S. I brought home pizza earlier. Got your favorite. It's in the fridge._

Jess grinned at the last line and immediately opened the door to the fridge. Inside she found a box from her favorite pizza place. She opened the lid and inhaled. There was nothing better than cold pizza, especially cold vegetable pizza with with extra olives.

Jess quickly grabbed a slice and took a bite, moaning in appreciation. God bless Nick and his pizza, she thought. The crab puffs that she had earlier had not been enough food for one day. Jess polished off two slices of pizza in a matter of minutes and headed towards her room, taking off her shoes along the way. She was exhausted. After the events of the morning, helping Cece with the gifts and dealing with the people at the post office, Jess wanted nothing more than to relax in a tub with a glass of pink wine. Damn Schmidt and his stupid "no tub" rules. A long hot shower was just going to have to do it.

By the time Jess stepped out of the shower and got dressed in her favorite pajama set (dark blue with little white stars) it was 8:30. Jess thought about heading to the living room and watching some tv, however a giant yawn wracked her and she decided against it, slipping under the bedcovers. An early evening it was.

The problem was, as exhausted as she was, Jess couldn't fall asleep. She tossed and turned for about an hour before sighing and tossing the blankets off of her. Jess swiveled into a seated position, planting her feet on the floor and placed her head in her hands. She rubbed her eyes and looked at the door, grimacing. Just do it, she thought. Jess squared her shoulders and marched toward the door.

Once out of her room, Jess quickly walked across the hall and silently opened Nick's door. It was dark in his room, the only light coming from the moon streaming through his windows. Nick's bed was way more comfortable then Jess's was and dammit, she needed a good night sleep. Jess saw a pile of Nick's flannel shirts sitting on his desk and smiled. Nick hardly ever put his clean clothes away, instead kept them on his desk. "I know where they are then!" Nick had once told her when she asked about it.

Jess bit her lip and shook her head. Screw it, she thought. Jess snagged one of Nick's clean flannels and quickly changed into it before climbing into his bed. She smiled once she threw the covers over herself. The bed smelled faintly of old spice and something else. Something distinctly Nick. Jess burrowed deeper into Nick's green plaid comforter and was fast asleep minutes later.

* * *

Nick stumbled into the loft at half past 3am, rubbing his eyes. He didn't think he could possibly be anymore tired than he was when he went to work, but now he could hardly keep his eyes open. Nick threw his red hoodie onto the couch and walked to his room, opening the door when he got there and flipping on the light. The sight before him made him smile wide.

Jess. Asleep. In his bed. Her hair was a mass of curls on his pillow, mouth slightly open and every now and then a little snore would escape. She had one hand tucked under her chin with the other dangling off the side of the bed. She was still the most beautiful thing that he had ever seen. Nick leaned against the doorway for a second just admiring her. She was wearing one of this flannels and, although he would probably never admit it to her, he loved when she wore his clothes. When she had appeared from his room after that first night in his red and blue shirt, he had to stop himself from pushing Bob out of the way and throwing her over his shoulder cave man style back through the door.

Nick maneuvered away from his door and closed it silently, trying his best not to wake Jess up. She looked exhausted, small bags had appeared below her eyes and Nick had the urge to try and rub them out.

Nick quickly changed into a white undershirt and boxers, turning out the light as he walked to the opposite side of the bed. Nick climbed in and cuddled up behind Jess. He didn't want to wake her, but he still wanted to be as close as he could get to her. Nick felt Jess shift in her slip and she pressed her back into his chest. Nick instinctively wrapped an arm around her waist and linked his fingers with her. He heard Jess breathe a little sigh and he pressed a kiss into her hair.

Nick closed his eyes, his brain quickly shutting down into sleep mode when he swore he heard Jess whisper "Welcome home."

**A/N**

**Ok, so it was kind of a filler chapter and I'm not completely satisfied with it, but I wanted to have something for you guys because I won't be able to update again until later next week. There may be a rewrite of this chapter, so be on the lookout for that.**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

It had been a week since Cece's disaster of a wedding and things were going, well, fine… then they had their first fight.

On Monday, Jess had gotten a call from the school district at seven am telling her that she had gotten the job and they needed her in by eight. Jess had squealed and jumped up and down in bed for a couple of minutes, waking a sleeping Nick who popped one eyelid open and gave Jess a thumbs up before rolling over and falling back asleep. Jess had rolled out of bed, taken a shower and was out the door in a half hour, leaving Nick to his sleeping.

The two had hardly seen each other since. When Jess got home from teaching, usually around 6, Nick was just getting ready to leave for his shift at the bar. They would exchange pleasantries, a brief kiss, causing both Schmidt and Winston to roll their eyes in the corner, and that was the extent of it. They barely saw each other. Nick would come home at the wee hours of the morning, climb into bed with Jess, kiss her on the back of the head, which had become habit, and fall asleep curled up next to her. It had been the same thing all week. They still had yet to have a conversation about what they were to each other… which was the cause of the fight.

Saturday morning had started out wonderful. Jess woke up late and stretched in bed like a cat. She looked over and frowned. Nick was not there, instead all she found was a pile of crumpled sheets. Jess tossed the blanket off of her and headed towards the bathroom. No Nick. Her frown deepened as she headed through the hall and toward the kitchen. Then Jess beamed. Nick stood there, in his boxer shorts, and a white undershirt as he cooked breakfast. Her smile got even wider when she noticed it was eggs.

Nick heard the patter of Jess's feet and turned around to see her beaming. He held up the spatula he was holding and winked at her. "Thought I'd give this another go." He said as he turned around to face the stove once more. Jess came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning her head into his back. She swore she could feel Nick smile.

"Good morning." Jess whispered into his back as Nick placed his free hand on top of Jess's, which was still currently on his chest. He lifted her hand and pressed a small kiss into her palm causing Jess to grin into his back. She moved away from him and saddled up on the barstool, eagerly anticipating her breakfast.

Nick was still grinning like a fool when he turned around and dumped a pile of eggs on two plates. He grabbed a fork, and handed one of the plates to Jess who looked up at him. "Miller, I think you've mastered the egg," she smiled and reached for the salt and pepper. Unlike last time, these eggs were perfectly done, not runny but light and fluffy. Nick winked again as he grabbed another fork and hopped on the barstool next to Jess, digging into his own plate.

"Ohhh, eggs." Winston rounded the corner and looked at the pair, rubbing his hands in anticipation.

Nick spared him a glance as he speared another egg. "Not for you." Winston's shoulders slumped.

"Oh I see how it is. No eggs for poor old Winnie… poor old, badger bitten Winnie." Jess and Nick rolled their eyes. They had both been on the receiving end of Winston's pity party all week. Whenever he didn't get his way, he brought up the badger bite. Didn't like what they were watching on tv? Badger bite. Wanted to get a drink? Badger bite. Everyone was sick of it.

"No. Make your own breakfast if you're hungry." Nick said as he took a sip of orange juice.

"But… I was bitten1 You don't know the pain, the hardship…"

"Winston, I swear to god, if i hear the words 'badger bite' come out of your mouth one more time…" Nick said as he pointed his fork threateningly at Winston.

"Fine, fine." Winston grimaced as he reached for the cereal.

Just as Winston was about to pour milk on his bowl of cereal, Schmidt burst out of his room. "My friends!" He exclaimed, causing everyone in the kitchen to raise their eyebrows at him. Schmidt had been mopping around the house all week, torn between two women. He would corner whoever was around and make a list of qualities that he liked and didn't like in both Elizabeth and Cece, always ending with. "How do I choose between the two?!" The rest of the roommates had taken to mumbling something incoherent under their breath and escaping either to their rooms or out the front door. Schmidt was almost, ALMOST, as bad as Winston right now.

"My friends, I have made my decision." He grinned. Schmidt was dressed in one of his finest suits, his hair perfectly quaffed with his hair chutney. He was grinning from ear to ear. Jess thought he looked like the Cheshire Cat.

"Thats great, Schmidt." Jess smiled at him. "So…" she waved her fork around for emphasis.

However, Schmidt didn't answer, instead gave a small, somewhat creepy little finger wave, and walked out the front door. Jess raised her eyebrows and looked at Nick. "I have a feeling this isn't going to end well." She said as Nick just shook his head as he picked up his now empty plate and placed it in the sink.

"So…" Nick said as he placed his hands on the counter and leaned over towards Jess. "What do you want to do today?" Nick waggled his eyebrows suggestively causing Winston to to roll his eyes behind his back.

"And that's my cue to leave." Winston exclaimed as he headed off in the direction of his bedroom.

Jess laughed and got up from her barstool. "As much as I would absolutely love to, " she said as she placed her plate in the sink on top of Nick's. "I have a bunch of papers to grade for Monday."

Nick gave a full on turtle face. "You can't put it off?" He said as he stepped forward and placed his hands on her waist. Jess put her hands on top of his.

"Look at it this way, the sooner I finish, the sooner we can explore," Jess stood on her tip toes and whispered the last part in his ear, "other activities." She pulled back and looked him in the eyes giving him a devilish grin.

Nick growled. "I'm going to hold you to that." He said as he swooped down and kissed her.

Later that afternoon, Nick and Jess were curled up on the couch together. Nick had his feet up, beer in one hand as he watched some sports game on the television. His other arm was wrapped around Jess who had a pile of papers sitting next to her. She held a red pen in her right hand, her head bent over a paper as she graded it.

Jess sighed and put the pen down, leaning her head back into the couch. She brought both of her hands up and rubbed her eyes. "I have a headache." She exclaimed as she brought her hands back down to her lap and looked over at Nick.

"Hmmm?" Nick said he continued to watch the television. He seemed to be transfixed by whatever was happening and Jess grimaced. Men and sports. She would never get it.

"I said I have a headache." Jess closed her eyes and tilted her head back again. "I swear if I see anymore computer language in a paper, I'm going to throw something. Since when is it ok to put BTW, LOL or OMG into an academic paper?" She said as she tossed the current paper on the coffee table.

"Also, when did it become acceptable to leave the gh out of worlds like 'tonight?' It is not t.o.n.i.t.e!" She practically screeched throwing her hands up.

"Woah. Jess…" Nick was paying attention to her now. He tugged on one of her curls. "They're just middle school kids. Cut them some slack." He said rubbing her shoulder.

Jess sighed. "I know… It's just… frustrating." She titled her head to the side as Nick continued to rub her shoulder. She sighed. "That feels really good by the way."

Nick set his beer down on the table. "Turn." He ordered and Jess raised her eyebrows but obeyed, sitting sideways and cross-legged on the couch. She felt Nick shift behind her as he placed both of his hands on her shoulders and began to rub. Jess moaned. "Oh my god, how did you get so good at this?"

Nick grinned. "You don't know all of my secrets." He said as Jess giggled.

Then the door banged open causing the two to jump. A disheveled and pissed off Schmidt entered, sporting a black eye. He slammed the door shut and marched over to where the two were sitting.

"Schmidt?" Jess asked tentatively. "What happened to you?"

"Me?" Schmidt spat at her, causing Jess to recoil back into Nick, whose eyes were bugging out of his head. Nick had seen Schmidt angry before sure, but nothing like this.

Schmidt laughed sardonically at her. "Me… well let me tell you what happened to me Jessica Day." Schmidt began to pace back and forth in front of them.

"I ended things with Elizabeth. And she sucker punched me. Right in the face!" He said pointing to his black and swollen eye. "She yelled at me. In front of the whole neighborhood! Usually I love a good audience, but what the hell?!" He said stopping in front of the two. "I do not understand you women!" He glared at Jess. "They told me to choose, so I choose and then they punch me in the face?! WHAT. THE. HELL?!" He shouted.

Jess grimaced and looked over at Nick before piping up. "Well, Schmidt. Yes, she wanted you to choose. But she wanted you to choose her. She was obviously upset…"

"SO THAT GIVES HER THE RIGHT TO PUNCH ME IN THE FACE?!" Schmidt shrieked.

"Well no, but…"

Schmidt ignored her. "And then, I go seek comfort in my Indian Goddess Cece, and she slammed the door in my face!" Schmidt waved his arms in frustration. " I choose her and she rejects me?! She… I don't understand! I brought her flowers, and told her that I ended things with Elizabeth…" He trailed off looking out the window.

"Schmidt…" Jess started, but Schmidt interrupted her.

"AND YOU TWO!" He shouted at the pair, causing them both to recoil. "What is this?!" He said pointing back and forth between the two of them. "What exactly are you two doing?"

Nick grimaced at Schmidt and looked over at Jess, "Well, uh…"

"WELL?!" Schmidt shrieked again. "Is this a friends with benefits situation? Are you two dating?! WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THE DYNAMICS IN THIS LOFT?! I'M WAITING…" Schmidt stood, hands on hips, eyebrows raised, glaring at the two on the couch.

Nick's mouth twisted. "Well… uh… we're sleeping together." He said, looking up at Schmidt.

Jess rounded on Nick then. "We're sleeping together?" She looked back and forth between Schmidt and Nick. "Really, Nick?"

Nick grimaced. "I mean… uh… Can we talk about this later? When Schmidt's not around?" He gave a hopeful smile.

Jess narrowed her eyes at Nick. "We're sleeping together…" She mumbled. "Is that all this is to you? A good romp in the hay?"

Nick jumped up off the couch, as Schmidt sat down on the other side, still glaring at the two of them. "No.. no no no…" Nick said, walking to the opposite side of the coffee table, "I mean… we haven't actually talked about it…"

Jess jumped up of the couch after him, knocking her ungraded papers to the floor. "So… lets talk."

"What do you want me to say, Jess?" He asked pleadingly.

"I don't know Nick! But… this is more than us sleeping together, right?" Jess asked.

Nick shook his head. How did this suddenly become a conversation about their relationship? "It is… I just..."

"Well?!" Jess glared at Nick hands on hips.

Nick suddenly became angry. "What the hell do you want me to say Jess? Christ! You want me to say you're my girlfriend? Huh? Is that it?" Nick shouted at her.

"I want you to say something other than 'we're sleeping together' thats for sure.!" She yelled back, eyes narrowing into slits.

"FINE!" Nick shouted, hands clenching into fists. "You're my girlfriend!"

"And you're my boyfriend.!" Jess shouted back at him.

"FINE!"

"FINE!"

The two were breathing heavy. They had managed to walk towards one another and now they were chest to chest. Their breathing ragged, hands clenched at their sides, eyes boring into one an-others. Suddenly Nick reached out and pulled Jess into his chest and his mouth crashed down on hers. It was a rough kiss. Mouths were pressed firmly against each others, hands were clawing at clothes and hair. Jess and Nick, frankly had completely forgotten Schmidt was there.

The two broke apart, still breathing hard, hands still locked on each other clothes. They looked at one another through lidded eyes.

Nick was the first to pipe up. "Bedroom."

Jess nodded. "Now."

Schmidt rolled his eyes on the couch.

**A/N**

**Well, that was fun. Sorry it took so long. I had to figure out how to get the two to say that they were officially dating, and a fight seemed like the perfect way! Also, Jess's pet peeves about the paper are taken from my life. Things like that drive me crazy. Hope you liked. I should be able to get the next chapter up sooner next week, I don't have to work as much!**

**Please review! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

The last week of May brought with it the final week of school for Jess. She would have three months off for summer break and she was looking forward to sleeping in… especially when a certain bartender was involved.

On Friday, Jess awoke early and slipped out of bed, careful not to wake Nick. He had only gotten home two hours ago from the bar, having to stay late to clean up after a brawl had broken out. He needed his sleep. Jess quickly snagged Nick's computer off of his makeshift desk and headed for her bedroom, grabbing a stack of graded papers. Jess needed to enter them into the schools new computer generated grading system by the end of the day so she wanted to get ahead.

Balancing both the computer and the papers in one hand, Jess headed for the kitchen, setting them on the island counter. She quickly made herself a cup of tea, blowing the steam off the top and sat on one of he barstools, popping Nick's laptop open in the process. She quickly logged onto the school's website and began entering her students grades.

Two hours later, the sun was shining through the windows of the loft and Jess's eyes were getting blurry from staring at the computer. She rubbed them quickly and looked over at her stack. She was only halfway through. Her predecessor had never used the program so Jess had to not only enter the grades that she gave but the ones they had as well. Jess sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. She was startled when she felt two arms wrap around her waist and a chin was placed on her shoulder.

"Whatcha doin?" Nick asked behind her. Jess grinned and leaned back into him.

"Inputing this endless stack of grades. Thought I could get a head start on it so I could get out early today. Didn't realize it would take so long." Jess yawned and turned on the barstool facing Nick. "What're you doing up?" She asked, taking in his rumpled shirt and bed head. Jess had to resist the urge to run her hands through his hair.

"Woke up and realized you weren't there. Knew it was too early for you to head to school so I got worried." He sent her a sly smile that Jess returned. She was touched by his concern.

Jess got up off the barstool and reached up to give Nick a quick kiss. "That's so sweet." Nick had wrapped his arms around her waist again, smiling down at her. Jess caught sight of the microwave clock behind her. "Oh damn." she cursed looking at it. It was 7:15 and she had to be at the school by 8.

"What?" Nick mumbled, his lips trailing down her neck.

"Nick…. stop. I…. guh…" Jess sighed as she tilted her head to the side to give him better access. She felt Nick grin against her neck. Jess suddenly came to her senses and shook her head pushing Nick away gently. "I have to get going." She said removing Nick's arms from around her. Nick pouted at her but stepped back, letting her maneuver around him. She quickly saved her work and closed the laptop gathering it and the rest of the papers up in her arms. "I'll see you tonight though!" She yelled over her shoulder as she headed toward her room. "Celebratory final day of class drinks!"

Nick shook his head and grinned as Jess entered her room. Tonight was not going to come soon enough.

* * *

At nine pm, Nick was busy serving drinks to customers. Jess had text him a few hours ago letting him know that she was finally done for the day and was headed back to the loft to get ready. Nick had grinned stupidly at his phone for a minute before closing it and dealing with the before dinner crowd.

The bar had died down somewhat. There were a group a people in one of the booths and a few sat at the bar, including Schmidt and Winston, but it was still early. Nick served the last customer when his eyes caught a glimpse of curly brown hair at the door and he sucked in a breath. Jess stood at the entrance, her hair down in a mass of curls, a form fitting red dress clung to her tiny frame. Nick whistled under his breath. "Damn." he exclaimed. He was one lucky sonofabitch.

"Woah." One of the customers at the bar had also turned and seen Jess enter. His eyes raked up and down Jess's body and Nick had to resist the urge to smack the mans eyeballs out of his head.

Jess felt Nick's eyes on her before she saw him, but once she did she grinned and waved, making her way quickly over to the bar. She hitched herself up on one of the barstools and raised her eyebrows at Nick. "Put your eyes back in your head, Miller." She said, laughingly.

"Jess… you look… wow." Nick smiled at her.

"Hey there, pretty lady, " the man that Nick had wanted to smack earlier piped up, "can I buy you a drink?" He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Jess looked quickly over at the man, and said "no, thanks." before turning her attention back to Nick, who was still ogling her. Jess snapped her fingers in front of his face a couple times and Nick shook his head to regain focus causing Jess to giggle.

"You keep looking at me like that, Miller, and we're both going to get kicked out of here." Jess winked.

"Well damn, Day, what did you expect?" Nick shook his head again, but he was smiling. Nick quickly reached behind he bar and poured Jess a glass of pink wine, placing it in front of her. Jess smiled appreciatively and took a sip.

It wasn't long before Schmidt and Winston made their way over to where Jess and Nick were. Schmidt slung his arm around Jess's shoulders and leaned on her. "Jessssiiiiccccaaaaa!" He slurred at her and grinned stupidly. Jess raised her eyebrows at Nick who shrugged.

"Hey Schmidt. Looks like you've got a head start on all of us." Jess wrapped an arm around his waist so he wouldn't lose his balance.

"Jess… you know whats good… Appletini's. I mean… they're martini's… that taste like apples. And Nick!" Schmidt shouted across the bar. "You, my friend, make the best damn appletini…." Schmidt smacked his hand against the bar. "ANOTHER!" he shouted, holding onto Jess a little tighter to keep from falling.

"Schmidt, I think you've had enough." Nick said, handing him a glass of water.

"Nick… Nicholas Miller… I'm fine. I just… I need another drink, ok? Just… ball me!" Schmidt slurred again.

Nick shook his head. "I don't think so man."

"Psshhh!" Schmidt sighed, removing his arm from around Jess's shoulders and wandering toward the back of the bar where the booths were. Jess looked at Winston and raised her eyebrows.

"What the hell was all that about?" she asked him.

"Cece of course." Winston answered. "I better go keep an eye on him…" Winston trailed off, chasing after Schmidt who had cornered some poor college student and was trying to convince her to buy him a melon ball.

Jess grimaced at Nick. "Poor Schmidt." She said. She hadn't had a chance to sit down and talk to Cece to see what the problem was. She knew that Cece was in love with him, but why she had slammed the door in Schmidt's face that day was still a mystery o her.

Nick made a face. "Yeah, he's really not in good shape." The both watched as Winston dragged Schmidt away from another booth and towards the door. He waved at the couple making a "we're going home" signal before exiting, towing Schmidt along with him.

"Excuse me!" a pretty blonde woman waved from further down the bar, obviously trying to get Nick's attention.

"I'll be back." Nick whispered as he made his way down the bar to help the customer.

A couple hours passed and the activity in the bar had picked up significantly. Nick was busy helping customers and Jess was finding herself alone more and more that night. This was not how she had envisioned her evening going, but it was ok. Nick was working. It wasn't like they were on a date.

Then it hit Jess and her eyes widened. A date. She and Nick had been seeing each other for almost three weeks and they had yet to officially go out on a date. How had she not realized this until now? I mean, sure they had dinner a couple of times, but it had been in the loft, with the other guys. And curling up on the couch together was not a date. How had this happened? Jess shook her head, she needed a stronger drink.

* * *

At 1 am, Nick's shift was over. For once he wasn't scheduled to close and he was going to take full advantage of that. Nick saddled up to where Jess was sitting a placed another pink wine in front of her. Jess smiled distractedly over at him and took a sip. Nick furrowed his brow.

"Whats wrong?" He asked turning in his seat to face Jess, concern lacing his voice.

Jess shook her head. "It's nothing… I just…" She squinted her eyes. " I just realized… we haven't actually gone on a date… as a couple I mean."

"What?" Nick asked. He was sure they had… hadn't they?

"I mean… it's not a big deal or anything. We've both been pretty busy but… it's kinda weird, don't ya think?" Jess tilted her head to the side surveying Nick.

Nick shook his head in disbelief. She was right. Damn. How had that happened?

Nick reached out and took Jess's hand in his. She looked up at him quizzically. "Jessica Day, " Nick started as Jess smirked, "will you go out on a date with me?"

Jess began to laugh, a small twinkle in her eye. "You sure you can handle it, Miller?" She asked playfully.

Nick shot her a lopsided grin. "You sure _you_ can, Day?"

Jess grinned at the challenge. "Bring it."

**A/N**

**So, I figured out my ending to this story! And I'm super SUPER excited about it, but don't worry, we are definitely not there yet. Hope you guys liked the chapter. I love drunk Schmidt (QHC) so I had to include that.**

**Please review and let me know what you think!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

On Tuesday morning, Nick woke up at 8am, alone. He shifted in bed and looked around his room wondering where Jess had gotten to before grabbing the nearest clothes he could find and going in search of her. Thats when he heard the wretching coming from the bathroom. Nick pushed the door open and found Jess bent over the toilet. He walked up quietly behind her and pulled her hair back from her face. Jess spared a glance at him before another wave a nausea hit her and she once again faced the toilet.

Jess gasped for breath, her stomach heaving and the taste of bile in her mouth. Did she eat something bad? Did someone else get her sick? If someone got her sick she swore right then and there that she would find them and execute them. She not only was nauseous but her head was pounding and she felt dizzy. Jess weakly pushed away from the toilet and Nick dropped her hair. Jess was still breathing hard and tears had fallen from her red eyes. She leaned back against the cool wall and Nick sat down next to her, rubbing her neck.

"Are you alright?" He asked gently, his thumb making little circles on her neck.

Jess grimaced and shook her head, wiping the tears from her cheeks. She was still breathing heavy and her stomach was still rolling. She was afraid to get up.

Nick got up quickly. "I'll be right back." he said as he jogged to the kitchen, quickly grabbing Jess a bottle of water before returning to the bathroom. He handed her the cool bottle and Jess smiled weakly at him before opening it and taking a sip.

"What happened?" Nick asked, sliding back down on the floor next to her.

"I dunno." Jess whispered. "I was fine last night…" She trailed off her stomach giving a sudden lurch. Jess reached for the toilet and leaned over it but luckily nothing came up. She frowned. Not like there was anything left in there anyway.

Nick had moved behind her and gathered her hair up once again. With one hand he held her hair, while the other was gently rubbing her back. Jess put up her hand and Nick clasped it, helping her up off of the floor. Jess stumbled to her feet and swayed slightly, still feeling dizzy. Nick quickly put his arm around her waist.

"Whoa, steady Jess." he said, grabbing hold of her waist to keep her from falling. Jess leaned into his side and closed her eyes, trying to swart off the dizziness.

"What is going on in here?!" Schmidt came bursting through the door. "Who is making the…." He stopped dead taking in Jess's pale and slightly green appearance.

"Is she sick? No…. no no no no no." Schmidt put his hands up and backed out of the room. "Get her out of there Nick! I will not have her infecting the whole house! Go! NOW!" He said through the door.

Nick rolled his eyes. "Come on, Schmidt. Relax."

"Relax, Nicholas? I'll relax when she's safely back in her bedroom and I can disinfect the bathroom. Then, THEN, I'll relax!" Schmidt shouted down the hall, from Nick assumed was the kitchen.

Nick sighed and brushed a stray strand of hair off of Jess's pale and slightly damp forehead. Wow, she was really burning up.

"Are you ok to walk?" he asked. Jess didn't open her eyes but nodded, still leaning into his side. Nick kept one arm firmly wrapped around her and led her to her bedroom. He pulled down Jess's comforter with one hand and gently helped Jess into bed. She sat up against the pillows and rubbed her eyes, blinking wearily up at Nick when she was through. Jess grimaced.

"I hate being sick." She croaked, her throat a tad sore from her stomach upheavals. "I cannot be sick. Our date is tonight…"

Nick looked at her, turtle face in place. "Don't worry about it, we'll do it another time. You need to get better first." He sat down on the bed next to her, his back up against the headboard.

Jess quickly shifted away from him. "No, Nick… you need to go. I don't want you getting sick too."

Nick shrugged. "Don't worry about it."

"Nick…." Jess protested.

"I'm not going anywhere Jess, so just stop arguing with me." Nick scooted closer to her and wrapped an arm around her. Jess made a small protesting noise in her throat but leaned against his chest, her head dropping to lay gently next to his neck. She sighed and closed her eyes, drifting off into a fitful sleep.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Jess woke up curled in the fetal position. She grimaced. Her nausea had subsided slightly but her head was still pounding. She tried to move but felt a slight weight on her. Nick was curled up next to her, his body pressed into her back, an arm thrown around her body. She smiled at the fact that Nick had refused to leave her side.

Jess shifted so she was facing him, taking in his dissolved bed head, and the slight smile he had when he slept. Jess reached out and ran her hand through his hair causing Nick to stir. He popped open one eye and his smile widened.

"Hey." He whispered, pulling her closer to his chest. "How are you feeling?"

Jess snuggled deeper into him, her face pressed into his chest. "Still gross." She mumbled into his shirt. She could smell his soap, stale beer with a hint of old spice. God she loved how he smelled.

Nick wrapped his arm around her tighter. "Do you think you can eat something?"

Jess frowned. "Do I have to?"

Nick chuckled and pulled back away from her, causing Jess to open her eyes and look at him.

"Don't go anywhere." Nick said climbing out of her bed. "I'll bring you some soup."

Nick opened the door and headed towards the kitchen. It was quiet in the loft. Schmidt was at work, Winston was probably still asleep. It was nice. Peaceful.

Nick quickly microwaved a can of chicken noodle soup and grabbed a package of saltines. He placed it all on a yellow tray, along with a glass of ice water. Nick was about to pick it up when he stopped. He found a tiny jar and placed a daisy in it, smiling at the memory of the first time he made her breakfast, using this exact same tray.

When Nick arrived back at Jess's room, he found her sitting up in bed, phone clutched in her hand. She looked up at him and smiled. "Checking my messages." She said by way of explanation.

Nick sat the tray down on her lap and plopped himself down next to her, crossing his ankles. Jess's smile broadened when she noticed the daisy. She picked it up and twirled it in her fingers, looking over at Nick, eyes twinkling.

"Remember…" He started to ask, but Jess interrupted

"The roof." She said, still twirling the daisy. Nick grinned at her, brushing the hairs out of her eyes, trailing his hand down her cheek. Jess leaned into his touch and for a second the two just sat there looking at each other, memories flooding them. Jess started to laugh. "You didn't burn your hand this time, did you?" She said, gesturing towards the soup.

Nick grimaced at her. "You're never going to let me forget that, are you?"

"Nope." She smiled, picking up a saltine and dipping it in the bowl before taking a bite. The hot liquid made its way down her throat and it felt comforting.

"Mmm… This was a good idea." She said when she swallowed, reaching for another saltine.

"Yeah, I have them every once in a while." Nick said. Jess rolled her eyes at him, taking another bite. When she was finished, Nick removed the tray and took it back to the kitchen telling Jess he was going to take a quick shower.

When he returned thirty minutes later, Jess was once again asleep on her side, mouth partially open. Tiny snores were escaping her lips and she was just so damn cute when she slept., he thought.

Just then Nick was struck with an idea.

* * *

Later that evening, around seven, Jess woke up to Nick squatting by her bed and shaking her shoulder gently. She squinted and looked Nick in the eyes, he was smiling at her and pushed her hair behind her ear.

"Hey." he said and she smiled at him.

"Hey." Jess said maneuvering herself into a sitting position. She ran her hand through her hair and smiled at him. Nick stood up and held his hand out to her. Jess raised an eyebrow at him.

"What…?" She asked.

Nick grinned. "I have a surprise for you."

Jess tilted her head at him but accepted his hand and stood up. Nick handed her her robe and she quickly put it on. Nick grabbed her hand once again and led her out of the bedroom through the hall and out of the apartment.

"Nick, where are we…" Jess started but Nick held up a head to stop her. He looked over at her and grinned.

"Just wait." He said and led her toward the door to the roof. Jess raised her eyebrows as he pushed open the door. The sight before her made her mouth dropped open.

She looked at Nick her eyes shinning with wonder. "You did all this?" She asked

Nick raised his eyebrows. "You sound surprised."

Jess turned and looked at the set up behind her. "Not surprised that you did it. Just…. surprised."

Nick came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, taking in everything. "Well… Schmidt and Winston helped. After I kinda forced them."

Jess laughed and leaned into Nick. "It's perfect."

The twinkle light were on and strewn throughout the whole roof putting everything in a soft glow. Two outdoor heaters were placed on either side of the little table on the room. Jess was very appreciative of those, it was a tad chilly outside. On the table itself stood a giant vase of daisies, two lit candles placed on either side along with a plate and silver wear. A glass stood next to one plate containing water, next to the other was an unopened beer. To the left of the table was a smaller table that held what appeared to be a covered hotplate, Jess assumed contained food. Soft music was coming from somewhere, Jess assumed that there was a radio hidden. She laughed when she heard "Groovy Kind of Love." came one.

Nick grabbed her hand and led her towards the table. "Since we couldn't go out for our first third date…." He pulled her seat out and Jess sat down. "I thought I'd bring the date to you and…." He picked up the lid off of the hotplate. "Since you're sick…"

Jess beamed. "Grilled cheese! You remembered!" Jess had once told Nick that when she was sick as a kid, her mom would always make her a grilled cheese sandwich. It always made her feel better and it was a comfort thing now that she was an adult.

"Of course I remembered." Nick shook his head. "You remembered…" Nick mumbled in mock offense. Jess laughed and cut her grilled cheese in half, making two identical triangles. She looked at Nick and held up one of the triangles.

"Cheers." She said taking a bite. "Oh my god… this is so good I want to punch you." She caught a stray strand of cheese with her index finger and shoved it back into her mouth, chewing appreciatively. "You made these?"

Nick had taken a bite of his grilled cheese also and swallowed. "Can't take credit." He said taking a swig of his beer. "This was all Schmidt. I got confused the second he added more than one type of cheese."

Jess laughed. "Next time, Miller, take full credit. This is delicious."

Nick grinned. "I couldn't do that. What if you liked them so much you wanted to make them again?" Nick shook his head. "That would've been the most disappointing meal of all time."

"If you made it… it wouldn't be disappointing." Jess smiled over at him taking another bite. Nick felt his heart soften. He didn't know what he had done in a previous life to deserve her, but he would be forever grateful.

Nick held up his beer. "To the best third first date ever."

Jess lifted her glass and clinked it against his. "Here here."

**A/N**

**So much fluff! Sorry, I couldn't help it! There will be more angst, but I'm not sure when. I have some more chapters mapped out but they are for later in the story. Also: to me, this is their third first date. The first was in "Fulffer," the second was "First Date" and then now. I know some people don't count the one in "Fluffer" but it was so damn cute, how could you not?**

**Hope you liked the chapter!**

**Please review and let me know what you thought!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

He forgot her birthday.

In the two months that Nick and Jess had been dating they had gotten into a routine. Two weeks into summer break, Jess had gotten a call from the school district asking her to be a summer school teacher. She had happily agreed. So every day she would get up at 6, be out the door by 7 and would be back home by 3. Nick would be there when she got home. The two would make and share dinner and then Nick would head off to his night shift at the bar, giving her a chaste kiss as he left her sitting on the couch amongst a pile of papers and tests. He had been working a lot more lately since Shane had found out that Nick and Jess had become an actual couple and up and quit. Nick was made temporary manager and both loved and hated it. He loved having something to do and being more grown up. He hated the extra work load. Nick would leave for work at 5:30pm and come home at 4am to find Jess already asleep in bed after wearing herself out. Nick would cuddle up next to her, throw his arm around her waist and the two would sleep until the routine continued the next day at 6am.

The two slept mostly in Jess's room, since she was always there by the time Nick got home. And most of Nick's clothes were scattered around. Jess liked to pick up one of Nick's flannels and put it out every morning on her way to either the kitchen or the bathroom.

On the weekends the two spent a lot of time in bed. A LOT of time in bed, kissing, cuddling and making love. Once they decided to leave their sex den, Jess would make Nick a special breakfast (which she would always end up splitting with him, Schmidt and Winston) and the two would cuddle up on the couch and watch TV most of the day, an argument ensuing every so often about whether or not cheerleading was a sport, or Nick begging Jess not to watch one of her girly chick flicks. If Nick had a weekend shift, he was out the door by 6, if he didn't, the two would go out to a fancy restaurant on a date. Jess would get all dressed up and do her hair. Nick would wear a tie (much to Jess's delight), and borrow Winston's car.

It was all very routine.

Until a Friday in late July.

Jess woke up at 6 to her alarm clock blaring on her nightstand. She quickly reached over and smacked the stupid machine off and ran a hand through her messy curls. Jess heard a deep sigh next to her and felt Nick shift on the bed. Jess looked over and smiled at the shirtless figure of her boyfriend, asleep on his stomach, one hand under his pillow, the other hanging off the side of the bed. Jess couldn't see his face as it was turned away from her, but she reached over and quickly ran her hand through his hair. Nick groaned but didn't wake up. She smiled and leaned down to kiss the top of his head before getting out of bed.

Jess quickly picked up Nick's green flannel and threw it on her self, grabbing a pair of shorts in the process and made her way to the kitchen.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!' Schmidt and Winston stood by the fridge beaming at her.

"Thanks guys!" She reached the two and hugs were exchanged.

"We got you something." Winston pulled a long rectangular box from behind his back. It was wrapped in white wrapping paper with different color circles on it, toped with a light pink bow.

"Guys… You didn't have to…" Jess began to pull the bow apart gently.

"Yeah yeah… just open the damn thing." Schmidt rolled his eyes at her. He knew full well that Jess loved getting presents.

Jess grinned and tore into the wrapping paper, throwing the remnants on the counter and revealed a rectangular box.. She carefully lifted the lid to reveal a bottle of wine. A very EXPENSIVE bottle of wine. She looked up at Winston and Schmidt, eyes wide.

"Guys…" She started, however Schmidt interrupted.

"That is a Domaine Leflaive, Bienvenues Batard Montrachet Magnum from France." Schmidt said in his most obnoxious superior voice. "You and your mule of a boyfriend enjoy. And don't waste it!"

Jess was speechless. That was a $1200 bottle of wine (she was learning a lot about alcohol from dating Nick). She walked toward the guys and embraced both of them at the same time, squeezing them tightly before pulling back.

"Thank you." Jess said, shaking her head at the two.

"Your welcome." Schmidt pat Jess on the back.

"So… what are your plans for tonight? You and Nick going to go somewhere or… " Winston playfully punched her on the arm as Jess laughed.

"I dunno what Nick has planned. We talked about it briefly before he went to work last week, but it hasn't been brought up since." Jess slid the two a sly smile. She had no idea what Nick had planned, but she loved surprises and couldn't wait. Jess snuck a glance at the clock "Oh shoot! I gotta go guys Thanks for the present!" She placed the bottle of wine quickly on the wine rack behind her before running back to her room to get dressed.

Once Jess was in one of her many brightly colored flared dresses, she turned to see Nick still asleep on her bed. She leaned down quickly and ruffled his hair. Nick shifted slightly in his sleep and leaned his head into her hand. Jess smiled and ran her hand through his hair again. "See you tonight," she whispered as she kissed his forehead. Jess grabbed her purse, checked her phone noticing the time again. She cursed silently under her breath and ran out the door.

* * *

The bell rang at 12:30 and the rustle of chairs and backpack zippers sounded throughout Jess's summer school classroom.

"Remember guys, your paper on the original 13 colonies is due on Monday! Have a good weekend!" Jess shouted to her rapidly departing class. She waved to a couple students before turning to her whiteboard and erasing the work of the day.

"Hey babe!" Cece popped her head into Jess's classroom. "Happy birthday!" She tugged in a flock of brightly colored balloons attached to a gift bag.

"Cece!" Jess ran over and hugged her best friend who laughed and hugged her back. "What are you doing here? Not that I'm not happy to see you, but I thought you had a gig today."

Cece set the gift bag down on Jess's desk and plopped herself up on the edge. "Cancelled. The photographer got arrested for speeding down Sunset and crashing into a palm tree."

Jess grimaced. "Is he ok?" She sat down behind her desk.

Cece swept her bangs out of her eyes. "Oh he's fine. The palm tree is DOA though." Cece saw Jess's eyes shift to the bag and quickly back to Cece's face. "Oh go on, Jess." Cece rolled her eyes. "You and presents…"

Jess clapped her hands excitedly and reached for the bag. Cece had used the string from the balloons to hold the handle together and Jess tugged at them, grunting her frustration when she couldn't get them undone. She glanced at Cece who raised her eyebrows at her. Jess squinted and reached into her desk, pulling out a pair of scissors and cutting the string, watching the balloons float up to the ceiling out of their reach.

"Jess…" Cece whined looking at the colorful balloons dancing on the ceiling. "Seriously?"

Jess had the decency to look slightly ashamed. "Sorry." Cece shook her head again.

"Well, open it!"

Jess tugged the rest of the cut string and threw it on the floor. She took the tissue paper out and reached in, first pulling out a light blue cardigan.

"Oh Cece, I love it!" Jess held it up against her chest. The color brought out her bright blue eyes.

Cece smiled. "There's more." She indicated her head towards the bag. Jess's eye's got wide as she reached inside the bag again, this time pulling out a gorgeous mint green fit and flare dress. Jess gasped. It was beautiful.

"Cece, have you been looking at my browser history again?" Jess had been searching for new clothes online the other day when Cece had been at the apartment. She had found this one right before she closed the laptop and went out with Cece that night for a girls night out.

Cece flashed her a wicked smile. "Maybe…"

Jess squealed and hopped off of her chair throwing her arms around her best friend. "Thank you!"

Cece wrapped her arms around her. "Of course." The two embraced for a minute before Jess pulled away. She gently folded the dress and the cardigan, placing them back into the gift bag.

"So, lunch?" Jess looked over at Cece who was still sitting on the edge of her desk.

"Absolutely."

* * *

At 6pm, Jess arrived back to an empty loft. Lunch with Cece had been great. The two had talked about everything from her relationship with Nick to Cece and Schmidt's relationship, which was going quite well. Cece had slammed the door in Schmidt's face that day because after avoiding her calls and basically any interaction with her, she was pissed. Really pissed. It took another two weeks of Schmidt begging and pleading for her to agree to meet him for coffee. The two had been attached at the hip almost every day since, which was annoying since Schmidt complained about her and Nick showing affection, but when he did it with Cece, in his eyes, it was completely fine.

Jess sat some shopping bags down on the counter and reached for the handle of the fridge when she noticed the note. Leaving notes on the fridge had become a thing between her and Nick. Whenever one of them wasn't going to be home, they didn't send a text, they left little notes on the fridge. Jess frowned at the note, snatching it off the door and reading:

_**Hey Jess,**_

_**I had to leave early for work. Some kind of tap emergency (hey, free beer!). Don't know when I'll be home. Don't wait up.**_

_**Nick**_

Jess dropped the note on the counter and looked around. She didn't know whether to scream or cry. Nick forgot her birthday. Jess grabbed her bags and headed towards her room, slamming the bedroom door behind her. She threw the bags on her bed and sat down hard. How could he forget her birthday? He was her _boyfriend_! Isn't that something that all boyfriends were just supposed to know? They were supposed to wake their girlfriends with breakfast, or take them out for dinner, or _make_ them dinner, not abandon them for work. _On their birthday_.

Jess lay down on the bed throwing her palms over her eyes and sighing. Maybe Nick wasn't ready for this kind of relationship? Maybe… Jess shook her head. She didn't know what to think. Was she overreacting?

Jess sat back up. Whatever. She didn't need Nick Miller to have a good birthday. She could do that all by herself. Long, hot shower, watch some "Dirty Dancing," and open Schmidt's ridiculously expensive wine on the roof while enjoying the cool LA air.

Screw Nick Miller.

* * *

At midnight, Nick was wiping down the counter at the bar. He had managed to fix the tap in about an hour and had all the spilled beer cleaned up in another hour. The bar only opened a little later than usual, but it had been steady since. The suits had come in, having their after work beers. The girls in the fancy dresses had come in for their before dinner/dancing martini's. And at 10:30, the after dinner crowed showed up wanting their usual wine, or beer.

Nick tossed his rag over his shoulder and wiped his brow with the back of his hand. He reached under the bar and grabbed himself a Heisler. Yeah, he shouldn't be drinking on the job, but since he was "technically" the boss, he could do pretty much whatever he wanted. Nick took a cool drink when he noticed Schmidt and Winston come through the door. He put his hand up in greeting. Schmidt stopped dead giving him a puzzled look. Nick saw him lean towards Winston, who also looked confused, and say something. The two saddled up to the bar.

"Hey… Nick. Wasn't expecting to see you here." Winston said placing both of his hands on the bar.

Nick drew his brows together. "Yeah… why would I be here? At my JOB?"

"Well…" Winston looked over at Schmidt who shrugged his shoulders, "We thought you and Jess were doing something special tonight…"

Nick placed a melon ball in front of Schmidt and a rum and coke in front of Winston. "Oh. Yeah, we talked about doing something but I had to take care of a problem here." Nick rolled his neck from side to side. He seemed to have developed a crick in his neck. He reached up and started to rub his neck with his hand.

Schmidt snickered at Nick. "Nicholas, there is absolutely no way that Jess, Jessica Day, was ok with you missing out on her birthday."

Nick froze, hand still on the back of his neck, eyes popping out of his head. He slowly brought his hand down and placed it on the bar. "It's Jess's birthday?'

Winston closed his eyes and shook his head. "Man, you are an idiot."

"Nick, I am disappointed in you."

Nick took the rag off his should and threw it on the bar. "Shit! BOB!" He shouted over to the man at the other end of the counter. "Hey, can you cover for me? I have to go do something!"

"Whatever you say, boss man." Big Bob waved from the opposite side of the counter. Nick waved quickly back before grabbing his red hoodie from behind the bar and throwing it over himself. "See ya." He said quickly to his roommates who both gave him looks of pity.

"Good luck, Nicholas. I think Jess is going to kill you, and I don't think I'd blame her, but good luck nonetheless." Schmidt held up his glass at Nick who grimaced as he ran towards the entrance of the bar.

* * *

Nick reached the apartment building thirty minutes later. He raced through the lobby door and repeatedly pressed the button on the elevator. "Come on, come on!"

The elevator pinged open and Nick jumped inside smacking the button for 4. The elevator doors seemed to take forever to close. Nick leaned back against the elevator wall. He closed his eyes. How had he forgotten Jess's birthday? He had been trying so hard lately to be the kind of guy that Jess deserved and then he did something stupid and forgot her birthday. He smacked his head a few times against the wall "You really are an idiot." He had no idea exactly what he was going to do when he got to Jess, he figured he would just wing it when he got to the loft.

The elevator doors opened on his floor and Nick flung himself out. He got to the door to the loft and froze, taking a deep breath. He smacked each of his cheeks twice, and shook his head. "Come on, Miller. Move!"

Nick turned the knob and entered the loft. It was quiet. Eerily quiet. "Jess?" he called out but there was no answer. Nick looked around the living room and the kitchen but didn't spot her. He made his way down the hall and noticed their bedroom doors were open. Nick peered inside both, no Jess. Nick checked the bathroom, the laundry room. Nothing.

Nick stood at the entrance to the hallway, hands on hips. He took a few deep breaths thinking. He wondered if Jess had gone to Cece's. Nick took his phone out of his pocket, thumbs poised to text Cece when he suddenly had one more idea of where she would be. He quickly exited the apartment and made his way to the roof entrance, quietly opening the door when he got there.

The roof was awash in pale moonlight. Nick blinked his eyes to adjust to the change and he spotted her on the opposite side of the roof lounging in a lawn chair, a bottle of wine next to her, giant glass in hand. She was staring straight ahead, lost in thought. Jess didn't appear to have noticed that she was no longer alone.

Nick approached her cautiously. "Jess?" he said tentatively.

Jess didn't turn, but looked up at him through slitted eyes. She didn't say anything, just stared at him with those piercing blue eyes that seemed to be staring straight into his sole. Nick felt his heart clench.

"Jess… I'm… I'm sorry… I…" but he stopped as Jess got up. She walked past him and shoved the bottle of wine into his chest as she made her way to the door of the roof, not looking back. Nick watched as she walked away, but he didn't make a move to stop her.

**A/N**

**I AM SO SO SORRY THAT THIS TOOK FOREVER! I honestly had three different versions of this chapter and it was written over four days (sorry if anything is a bit disjointed) because I couldn't get these damn characters to do what I wanted! I also feel like this chapter is kinda OOC for Jess, but I had to have her pissed in prep for the next chapter. So, there is a reason!**

**Anyway, I hope you liked it! Please review and let me know what you thought! I absolutely love getting them!**

**-Casey**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N**

**Hi Roomfriends! Here is my longest chapter yet, and my FAVORITE! This was one of the ideas I had from the beginning of this story and I'm SO glad that I finally got to it. Don't worry, there is still more to come!**

**PLEASE REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THOUGHT! **

**I do not own New Girl... only in my head**

Chapter 9

Jess groaned as she awoke. She squinted and rolled over looking at her clock. 5am. She had tossed and turned all night until finally at 3am she had fallen into a fitful, and apparently very short, sleep. Her head was pounding. Maybe she had overdone it with the wine last night.

The wine.

Jess grimaced as she remembered what had brought about the wine induced frenzy that was last night. Nick had forgotten her birthday. She rolled onto her back and closed her eyes, pressing her palms into them. She still couldn't believe that Nick had forgotten her birthday, although, she really shouldn't be surprised. He forgot Winston's and he really didn't want to participate in Schmidt's birthday. Maybe he wasn't a fan of birthdays, but she was his girlfriend. It was something you weren't supposed to forget. Maybe she was over thinking, and maybe it was a bit selfish, but she wanted him to want to remember. She didn't want to have to have to remind Nick that it was her birthday, he should just know. Jess twisted her mouth, that was such an irrational girl way of thinking.

Jess brought her palms back down from her face and sat up groaning again. She needed aspirin… and pancakes. Jess reached for her phone and punched a quick message to Cece

_Hey, are you awake? I need to talk to someone. Can I come over?_

Cece responded a minute later.

_Babe, you know you can always come over. I'll put coffee on._

_Thanks Cece._

Jess threw the covers off of her and swung her feet around to the floor. Her head was pounding and the room starting spinning around her. She closed her eyes and steady herself. Definitely over did it with the wine.. Jess slowly got up and found a pair of shorts and her jam-borree shirt, quickly and carefully throwing them on herself. She found her black flats and slipped them on her feet and padded towards the door. Jess opened it slowly and quietly peering out to make sure the coast was clear before exiting and heading for the door. She looked back at Nick's room once, shaking her head before grabbing her purse from the hanger by the door and leaving the loft.

* * *

Nick heard the loft door close and frowned. He knew it was Jess sneaking out, trying not to get his attention. Yeah, fat chance. Nick hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. He rolled over onto his back and stared at the ceiling, thinking. He couldn't believe that he had done something so stupid. And it was stupid. It was Jess's birthday. She spent so much time making sure that everything was special on all of her roommates birthdays, whether it was Schmidt's 29th party bus, or even making Nick her own version of supreme nacho's and filling the fridge with Heislers on his 30th. But he had forgotten. Nick rubbed his forehead. Idiot.

Nick glanced over at her side of his bed and grimaced. He also couldn't sleep because, apparently, he couldn't sleep without her. Since Cece's wedding, they hadn't spent a night apart. It had been two months and they always ended up in each others bed at the end of the night, no matter what time either one of them got home. Nick found himself constantly looking over at her side of the bed or rolling over and sticking his head in her pillow inhaling deeply. It smelled like her soap, all vanilla and a hint of strawberries. God, he had it bad.

And he might have just screwed it all up.

Nick punched his pillow for what seemed like the hundredth time that night trying to get comfortable. He needed to fix this, somehow, but he wasn't quite sure how. His brain was fuzzy from lack of sleep and wasn't working properly. Dammit.

Nick closed his eyes attempting to force himself into a coma-like state, but his eyes flew open suddenly.

He had an idea.

* * *

"Am I an idiot, Cece? Am I just expecting too much from him?"

Jess sat curled up on Cece's couch, her feet under her, hot mug of tea in hand. Cece sat next to her in pajama pants and a tank top. Her hair was up in a messy bun and she held a steaming cup of coffee. She gave Jess a stern yet sympathetic look.

"Jess…"

"I mean, it was my birthday, of all things. I don't expect much, but I mean, my birthday?!"

"I think…"

"And after all the trouble I go through for things for not only him, but for the rest of the guys. It just… I am so frustrated!"

"I understand but…"

Jess rubbed her eyes, "I don't know what to do here. Cece, what do I do? I mean…"

"JESS!" Cece interrupted loudly stopping Jess's long rant. Jess looked at her and raised her eyebrows.

"What?"

"You need to give him a break!" Cece practically screamed her head at her.

Jess looked at her incredulously. "Why?"

Cece gave her a weak smile. "Come on, Jess think about it. Has he ever missed something like this before?"

"No, but.."

"And who were you telling me the other day was always there for you when you needed him?"

"Nick, but…"

Cece put down her mug of coffee. on the table in front of her, placing her arm on the back of the couch and turned to face Jess. "Look, Jess. That man is so crazy about you it's ridiculous. The way he looks at you, the things he says to you…. " Cece shook her head. "It was a mistake. I'm not saying it's small or unimportant or even that you shouldn't be upset. I'm just saying, cut the man some slack."

Jess worried her lip and looked down at her hands holding her tea. Cece was right. Nick was always there. She didn't have to ask, he just was. He never missed something of hers if he could. Jess gave a smile smile and thought back to when she lost her job. She was a mess, sitting on the couch watching tv all day, going to Nick's bar and drinking at 11am, and her dalliance as Katie. Nick was there for all of that. He had given her the push that she needed to apply for teaching job after teaching job. Granted, he had accomplished this through the most random method ever, water massage, but he had still been there.

Jess looked up at Cece. "You're right." she said, unfolding her legs from under her. "I can't expect him to remember everything. This is Nick, after all." Jess grinned at Cece.

"Babe, you got it bad." Cece smiled over at Jess. She had never seen her best friend look so happy in a relationship before. Nick was good for her. Jess laughed and smiled more in this relationship than she had ever done in any other.

"Are you two women done yapping?" Schmidt strolled out of Cece's bedroom in his boxers. "Schmidty needs his beauty sleep."

Jess swiveled around and stared at him, eyes wide and mouth open. "Have you been here the whole time?"

"Yes. I came over here last night to get some Indian takeout…"

"Eww, Schmidt! Jar!" Jess wrinkled her nose at him.

"What?" Schmidt looked back and forth between Cece and Jess, "Too much?"

Cece twisted her mouth at him. "Yes, Schmidt."

Jess just stared at him, worry evident in her eyes. "Schmidt, how much did you hear?"

"Don't worry, Jessica. I'm not going to run off and tell Nick about your and Cece's lady talk." He shrugged his shoulders and sat down next to Cece, throwing his arm around her. Cece gave a small smile and leaned into him. Jess smiled at the two. She was glad that things had worked out between her and Schmidt. She needed him, and he needed her. They were weirdly a perfect match.

Jess set her tea down on the table. "I should go." She reached for her purse but Cece placed a hand on her arm.

"No, Jess. Lets go get breakfast. You need pancakes after a night of over indulging on the wine. Besides," Cece grinned at Jess. "I said you should give Nick some slack, I didn't say you shouldn't make him sweat a little." Cece removed Schmidt's arm from around her and stood up. "You want to come Schmidt?"

"No, too many carbs. I need to maintain this masterpiece." He said, flexing his abs. Jess rolled her eyes as Schmidt made his way back to the bedroom.

"Give me a second to change, and we'll head over to that little dinner over on Vermont." Cece said as she followed Schmidt into the bedroom.

Jess really did have the best friends, she thought. And Nick deserved to sweat… maybe just a little bit.

* * *

Nick arrived back at the loft around 3pm, little white bag in hand. He threw his keys down on the kitchen counter and looked around. No sign of any of his three roommates.

"Jess?" Nick called out. "Schmidt? Winston?"

Nick frowned at the lack of response. He was hoping that Jess had come home but apparently she hadn't. Everything was exactly how he had left it and Nick knew that if Jess had been home, there would be bake goods everywhere. It was how she dealt with stress. When she was upset, she baked. Cookies, cakes, pies, the counter would have been covered. And Nick knew that Jess had been plenty upset with him. He had never seen a look of pure disappointment in someones eyes before and when she had walked past him on that roof his heart had clenched. He never wanted her to look at him like that again.

Nick felt his cellphone buzz in his pocket. He reached in and grabbed the device, pulling it out and hitting the call button.

"Hello?"

"Nick?"

Nick closed his eyes. Dammit. It was Mick, the owner of the bar. Nick hated when he called. It meant one of two things. 1. He needed Nick to come in and cover a shift. 2. He had done something wrong and was about to be yelled at for it. Please let it be 1, he thought. He didn't need anymore drama today.

"Hey, I need you to come in ASAP. We have a new bartender, Kaylee, and seeing as how you're the temporary manager…"

Nick pressed his head against the fridge and groaned inwardly. Training. He hated training. It was the worst, having someone follow you around, watch your every move. Nick worked alone, normally, and he liked it that way. Having this Kaylee with him sounded like hell.

"Nick? You still there?" Mick sounded annoyed.

"Yeah, when do you need me in?" Nick pulled open the fridge, reached in and grabbed a Heisler.

"Now."

Nick rolled his eyes. "Give me a half hour."

"Done. See you in thirty."

Nick hung up the phone and took a swig of his beer, heading towards his bedroom, white bag still in hand. He stopped in the hall and looked over at the door to Jess's room. He walked over and knocked softly on the door. "Jess?" He knew she wasn't home but still… nothing. No answer. Nick grimaced and headed back towards his room. He needed to shower and change.

And then head to work.

To train.

Hell.

* * *

Jess walked in the loft at 9pm. It was quiet, lights off, nothing had changed since she left this morning. She sighed and set down the shopping bags that she had in her hands by the door so she could hang up her purse. She and Cece had spent all day together. It had been a long time since they had done a girls day out. Since before Cece's wedding, and between her and Nick getting together, and all the drama with Schmidt… Well, it had been awhile.

The two had wandered around the Grove, stopping at Anthropologie, Top Shelf, and Nordstrom. They ate lunch at Marmalade and dinner at Canters. It had been fun, but after awhile Jess had gotten tired. Only getting three hours of sleep and overdosing on the wine tend to take a toll on a person.

Jess snatched her shopping bags off the floor and went to her bedroom, kicking open the door so she didn't have to put the bags down. She made a beeline for her closet and set them all in there. She'd sort them out later, right now she wanted a shower and sleep.

At 10:30, Jess hopped out of the shower, wrapping her hair and body in a towel. She loved hot showers. It was one of her many guilty pleasures. Granted, hot showers were better when Nick was there, but she enjoyed herself nonetheless.

Jess had just finished wrapping the towel around herself when she heard a loud roaring, getting closer and closer. She looked around in panic and then the room began to shake. The floors rolled, she heard glasses fall in the kitchen. Jess bolted towards the doorframe. She knew that studies had been done that said the doorframe actually didn't offer any protection but she had no other options as she placed her palms on the inside of the doorframe, gripping it hard, her knuckles turning white. She heard a couple of loud bangs coming from somewhere in the apartment, more glass breaking. After what seemed like an hour, but was in reality only about a minute, the shaking subsided. Jess removed her hands from the frame and hesitated for a second, making sure that the earthquake was over, before she slowly and carefully walked towards her bedroom.

Jess opened the door and peered inside. The moonlight streaming through her window was the only light in the room, her lamp was smashed on the floor next to her bed. A few of her glass trinkets were also smashed, but that seemed to be the extent in her room. Jess tip toed around the glass making her way towards the closet. She needed to check on the gas and the water to make sure everything was alright, but it would be easier if she was actually wearing clothes. Jess grabbed a pair of skinny jeans and a green t-shirt, throwing them on, taking the towel off of her hair at the same time, running her fingers quickly threw it. Jess grabbed her cellphone before she made her way to the living room.

When Jess reached the end of the hall and saw the damage, she closed her eyes and sighed. There was glass… everywhere. Most of their plates and bowls, glasses too were on the floor in pieces. One of their bookshelves by the door had been knocked over and every glass item in there was smashed as well. But the worst, the worst of all was the tv, which was no longer sitting on the stand, but was currently on the floor, face down. Jess went over, maneuvering around various items. She carefully tilted the tv up and glass shards fell to the floor. Crap. The guys were not going to be pleased about this. Especially Nick. Nick loved that tv.

Crap. Crap crap crap.

"I'm So Excited" suddenly blared from Jess's cell phone, which she had set down on the coffee table. Jess reached for it, noting it was Schmidt's number. She hit the call button and pressed it to her ear.

"Schmidt, hey. Are you alright?"

"Jess! Thank God. Get down here, NOW!" Schmidt sounded panicked and worried. Instantly Jess felt her chest tighten and her palms sweat.

"Schmidt what happened?!"

"Nick's bar. Now!" The line went dead. Jess was filled with a sense of foreboding and dread. She ran towards the door and grabbed her purse and keys.

She didn't know what she was about to find.

* * *

Nick glanced at the clock on the wall again. 10:25. He sighed. He hadn't been wrong, it had been the training day from hell. Kaylee was a tiny cute blonde girl, about 22, still in college. And she was a pain in his ass. When she wasn't talking, she was making drinks incorrectly or not charging the right amount. He lost count of how many times he had stopped her and fixed her errors, but it had to be close to fifty.

Nick grabbed his towel from behind the counter and began wiping down. He sent Kaylee to the back to grab some of the liquor that they had run out of, relishing in the reprieve. He looked up and saw Schmidt and Winston walking through the door. They made their way to the bar and sat down.

Winston placed his hands on the bar. "Hey man, I thought you had the night off."

Nick frowned at him, grabbing a bottle of rum from behind the counter. "Yeah, I did. And then Mick hired a new idiot bartender and I had to come in and train." He rolled his eyes as he added coke to the glass he had poured rum in and handed it to Winston.

"Bummer." Winston took a sip. Schmidt watched Nick out of the corner of his eyes. Nick squinted at him.

"Out with it, Schmidt."

Schmidt raised his eyebrows. "You really stepped in it this time, Nicholas."

Nick shook his head at him. "Either say what you're going to say, or shut up." Nick pushed a lemon drop at him.

"I'm just saying, if I forgot my girlfriends birthday…" but Schmidt was cut short as the bar began to shake. There were shouts and screams as people panicked and ran for the exit. Bottles began falling behind nick, glasses rolled off tables. Nick leapt over the bar at Schmidt and Winston, grabbing them by their jacket lapels and practically thawing them towards the door. He was right behind them when he remembered Kaylee and stopped, the room still shaking.

"Nick what the hell, lets go!" Schmidt shouted at him, hand braced against the wall.

"Kaylee, the new bartender, she's still downstairs! Go! I'll meet you outside!" He didn't wait for the two to respond, but turned and ran to the basement door. He threw it open, and as he was making his way down the stairs, he heard the explosion.

Oh Shit.

* * *

Jess couldn't get close to the bar and she was panicking. There were police cars blocking the road and Jess was still two blocks away. Screw this, she thought. She pulled over to the side, threw the car in park, grabbed her purse and jumped out of the floor. She was running even before she had the car door closed.

Jess made her way through the streets, her hair whipping behind her. Thank god she had been going to the gym more. She wouldn't have been able to keep up this pace if she hadn't. Jess turned the final corner and stopped dead. In front of her was Nicks bar…

And it was on fire.

Jess's eyes widened, mouth open, and gaped at the bar. Flames licked up the side of the building, smoke was billowing in the air above the bar. Jess tore her eyes from the bar and looked around spotting Schmidt and Winston off to the side. She bolted towards them.

"Schmidt! Winston!" She shouted as soon as she was close enough for them to hear.

"Jess!" they headed towards her. She threw her arms around them and the three embraced.

"What the hell happened?" She asked looking back towards the bar.

"Jess, we don't know where Nick is." Schmidt said quickly.

"WHAT?!" Jess screamed at him. "What do you mean you don't know where Nick is?!"

Schmidt shook his head. "He was right behind us when he remembered that the new girl was downstairs. We just made it across the street when…" He gestured toward the bar.

Jess didn't hesitate and tried to bolt for the bar, but Schmidt and Winston both grabbed her arms and held her back. "Let me go! Let me go! He could still be in there!" Jess struggled against their hold.

"Jess, there's nothing you can do!" Winston held onto her arm tighter as she struggled.

"Get off of me! Nick, NICK!" She screamed, struggling harder against their grasp. "LET GO! NIIIIICCCCCKKK!" It was a heart wrenching scream to both Schmidt and Winston. Jess was breathing heavy, she wanted to get in there. She was desperate. Her heart was pounding, tears were filling her eyes. "NICK!" She screamed again, not noticing the looks of the uniformed officers, or the bar patrons. She didn't care. All she wanted was to get in that bar. "NICK!" She tried pulling her arms out of her roommates grasp.

"Jess, stop!" Schmidt grabbed her by the waist and began pulling her back.

"NO! GET OFF ME! NICK!" She began screaming again and kicking.

"JESS!" a voice shouted from far off to the left.

Jess stopped struggling against Schmidt and her head whipped around, spotting Nick on the opposite side of the street. She briefly noted that Schmidt was no longer holding her back before she sprinted at Nick throwing her arms around him when she reached him. She clutched Nick's back, tears falling freely from her eyes and buried her head in his shoulder. Nick gripped her tightly, eyes also closed. The two stood there like that for what felt like forever, just breathing each other in. Nothing else mattered to Jess in that moment except that Nick was warm and very much alive in her arms.

After a while Jess pulled back and looked Nick deep in his dark brown eyes. She pressed her lips to his and kissed him hard, letting every ounce of emotion out in that kiss. Nick didn't hesitate, but kissed her back. Greatful to be alive, grateful that Jess was there in his arms at that moment. Jess unlocked her lips from his and traced kisses on his cheek back to his ear before resting her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes again, arms still around him.

Nick saw Schmidt and Winston approach slowly and unlocked one arm from around Jess's waist.

"Nick, thank god." Schmidt clapped him on his free shoulder.

"Glad you're alright man." Winston gave him a fist bump.

Nick looked down at Jess, still leaning against his shoulder. "Me too."

Winston and Schmidt smiled at the two. They might not have been onboard with their relationship at first, but looking at the two now, they noted how imperfectly perfect they were for each other. They were endgame for each other, whether or not they would admit it.

"Jess?" Nick said gently. Jess opened her eyes and removed her head from his shoulder, looking up at him and wiping the tears from under her eyes. Nick placed his hand on her chin, his thumb rubbing her cheek. "You ok?"

Jess nodded at him, still to overcome with emotion to speak. She took a shuddering breath and blinked rapidly trying to stop the tears from flowing. Suddenly she noticed the blood on his upper arm. "You're hurt." she whispered rolling his sleeve up to see the damage and finding a deep gash. She inhaled sharply and felt tears prick her eyes once more.

"Oh, thats nothing. I'm fine." Nick said looking down at the cut on his arm. Jess shot him a look before grabbing his hand and dragging him to the nearest ambulance.

* * *

Later that night, Nick and Jess were lying in bed, Nick on his back, Jess curled up to his side, head resting on his chest, arm playing with is t-shirt. Nick had one arm wrapped around her waist, resting on her hip, his other hand playing with her fingers. They had decided on Nick's room, seeing as how there was less glass on the floor. Only Nick's makeshift bookshelf had been knocked over in his room, which was easier and less time consuming to clean up.

After the medic had patched Nick's arm up, which, despite Nick's assurance, was plenty deep, the roommates had all grabbed their cars and met back at the apartment. Schmidt had immediately turned into cleaning mode, picking up glass, putting everything back in it's place. The other three had headed to bed.

Now they were lying there, wrapped around each other. Jess felt Nick lean down and kiss her head, his hand rubbing her hip gently. He cleared his throat.

"Jess. I'm uh… I'm really sorry about your birthday. I…" Nick started but Jess interrupted him.

"It doesn't matter, Nick, really." Jess rolled on top of him, placing her chin on his chest and looked at his face. "Really."

"No, it does. I'm sorry. I know that doesn't make up for the fact that I missed it but…"

"Nick you could've… " she took a deep breath, " you could've died tonight and…" Jess couldn't continue, lump forming in her throat, tears piercing her eyes. She closed them and shook her head again. Thinking about it made her chest ache.

"Hey," Nick said, tilting her head up with a finger under her chin. "I'm fine, ok? Everything is fine." He stroked her hair as she nodded, opening her eyes and giving him a watery smile.

"Ok." She whispered, blinking at him. Nick reached over and threw open his nightstand, pulling out a small white bag. Jess raised her eyebrows at him. "Whats this?" She asked, sitting up on the bed facing Nick who sat up and pressed his back agains the headboard.

"This." He said with a grin, shaking the bag at her. "Is your birthday present. Now I know it's not much but…" He handed the bag to her.

Jess grinned at him, taking the bag out of his hand. She reached in and pulled out a small necklace. She held it up and twirled it around her fingers. It was silver, a tiny star on the end. She looked up at Nick. "You remembered? That was almost a year ago…" She trailed off looking back at the necklace again.

"Of course." Nick said reaching out and taking the necklace out of her hand. About a year ago, he had been walking with Jess down a small street in downtown, headed to get something to eat, when Jess had stopped dead in her tracks. In a small window of an antique store was that necklace. Jess couldn't take her eyes off it. She told him it was just like the one she her grandmother had given her as a little girl that she had lost when she first moved to Los Angeles, but she couldn't buy it. She had just lost her job at the school, and it was an unnecessary purchase.

"Turn around." Nick said, moving her hair out of the way, undoing the clasp and putting it on her. Once he had the clasp closed, he leaned in and kissed the back of her neck before releasing her hair. Jess turned back around, hand on the necklace. She smiled at him.

"Nick, you know you didn't have to."

"I wanted to."

Jess leaned in and kissed Nick hard, wrapping her arms around his neck. Soon the kiss turned into a frenzy. All the pent up emotion from that evening, everything that the two felt was in that kiss. Soon clothes were removed, limbs were tangled, mouths were everywhere.

And there was no more talking.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

_Nick was about halfway down the stairs when he heard the explosion._

_Oh Shit. _

_It blew the door shut and Nick flew down the rest of he stairs. He could feel the heat from the blast penetrate the wood door, now enclosing him inside the basement. Suddenly he heard a whimper coming from the back corner and remembered why he was down there in the first place. Kaylee._

_"KAYLEE!" He shouted. The lights were all off and it was pitch dark. He stretched his arms out searching for anything. The shaking had stopped a few seconds ago, but Nick was still unsteady on his feet. He stumbled over what felt like a barrel, probably of whisky. "Kaylee, where the hell are you?!"_

_"I'm over here!" he heard her sniffle from somewhere to the left. She reached out and grabbed his fingers. Nick grabbed her hand and pulled her up from where she had been crouching on the floor. Nick could barely make out her face in the darkness. It was tear stained and she was ghastly white. The poor girl was terrified._

_Kaylee looked around the room. "What do we do?" She said in a terrified whisper._

_Nick had let go over her hand and was once again reaching out into the darkness. "Theres a flashlight down here somewhere." He jumped as he heard a bang coming from somewhere overhead in the bar. They wouldn't last long in here, he thought. They needed to find a way out. Now._

_"I don't want to die…." Nick heard Kaylee whisper, a sob stuck in her throat. He reached around and clutched her shoulders._

_"We are NOT going to die in here. You hear me?! We're going to get out of this. We have to." Nick thoughts drifted to Jess. Yeah, he was definitely not dying now._

_That was when he heard the roof of the basement splintering…_

Nick bolted upright in bed knocking a slumbering Jess off his chest in the process. He was breathing heavy, a thin layer of sweat covering his body. He brought his hand up and rubbed his forehead.

"Nick?" Jess sat up next to him, noting how pale he looked. "Hey." She rubbing gentle circles on his back. "Are you alright?" She continued to rub as he lowered his hand from his face taking a shaking breath. Nick gave Jess a weak smile.

"I'm fine. Bad dream." Nick reached out and brushed Jess's mane of curls off her shoulder. She tilted her head and smiled at him, her fingers now walking up his back and into his hair.

"Bad dream, huh." She let the sheet that she had been clutching to her chest fall as she moved to straddle his waist. "Bet I know how to make it all better…" She gave him a chaste kiss as she dragged her hands through his hair. Nick clutched her waist, his fingers dancing on her hipbones.

"Mmm…" Nick sighed as Jess brought her lips back to his. He was insanely glad that she hadn't asked what the dream was about. He really didn't want to talk about it. In fact, he wanted to forget that that whole ordeal had ever happened.

"Uh huh." Jess's arms rested on his shoulders and she looked at him with darkened eyes. She raised her eyebrows at him and bit her lip seductively. Nick growled wrapping his arms around her waist and flipping the both of them so he was now lying on top of her. "Why Mr. Miller…."

"Jess?" Nick was breathing heavy, placing his hand on the side of her head and lifting her left leg to wrap it around his waist.

"Yeah?" Jess gasped, clutching his shoulders. Beads of sweat appearing on her forehead.

"Stop talking." Nick leaned down and kissed her.

* * *

Nick and Jess flopped on their backs, both gasping for breath. The looked over at each other and smiled. The smiles then turned into giggles and the two just laughed, both shifting to their sides and propping their head on their hands. Nick reached over and rubbed her arm.

"Wow." Jess breathed at him.

"Yeah." Nick said back grinning like a fool.

Jess plopped back down on Nick's plaid green pillow, rubbing the sweat off of her forehead. She wondered if would always be like this between the two of them. All fire and passion and mind blowing sex. She hoped so, although, she didn't know how much more pleasure her body could handle. He grin few broader at that thought.

Nick noticed the smile expand on her face. "What?" he asked drawing her body closer to his and wrapping an arm around her waist, hand still propping his head up.

Jess shook her head and looked up at him. "I was just wondering if it would always be like this" she pointed between the two of them "between us."

Nick leaned down trailing kisses from her shoulder to her neck and up to her cheek. He paused right before kissing her ruby lips. "God I hope so." He kissed her deeply eliciting a moan from Jess. He shifted so he was once again lying on top of her, tracing her arms, her hips… He tore his lips from hers and began kissing her chin, then her neck, then…

"Gah…" Jess sighed running her hands through his hair as he trailed lower. "Again?"

A growl was Nick's only response.

* * *

Nick collapsed on top of Jess. Both were breathing heavy. Jess ran her hand up and down his back, eyes closed. "Nick?" She whispered, opening her eyes and shifting them to the side of his head.

"Mmmph?" Nick grunted, head still buried in her neck.

"You squishing me." She grimaced. As much as she liked having the weight of one Nick Miller on top of her, his weight combined with sweat, the two were practically stuck together and it was slightly uncomfortable.

Nick lifted his head and kissed her on the nose. "Sorry." He grinned and rolled over on his back. A look of confusion suddenly came over his face as he looked up at the ceiling. "How did we end up at the bottom of the bed?"

Jess sat up and looked around. She grinned. "I have absolutely no idea."

The two burst into laughter, Nick sitting up with her, and wrapping one arm around her back. She smiled over at him and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek before getting up.

Nick reached out for her grasping her wrist. "Where are you going?" He asked pleadingly tightening his grip on her wrist.

She smiled down at him. "I have to use the bathroom." She bit her lip, "but I'm coming right back." Jess freed her wrist from his grasp and grabbed the nearest shirt she saw, which just happened to be the same flannel that she had worn after their first night together. Nick groaned as she threw it over herself covering all that delicious skin that he had just been thoroughly enjoying.

Jess looked over her shoulder and winked at him before exiting the room and making her way down the hall to the bathroom. Jess pushed open the door and made her way inside letting out a little squeak when she realized she wasn't alone. Cece stood there in a tiny robe, her hair in a disheveled mess around her shoulders.

"Jesus, Cece…" Jess clutched Nick's shirt tighter around her. "You scared me."

Cece made a face at her "Sorry babe."

"What are you…" Jess started but then stopped, raising her right hand in a gesture of surrender. "Never mind… I got it."

Cece grinned at Jess. "Schmidt called and well.."

Jess rolled her eyes at her. "Yeah, I figured." she said making her way to the stall, closing it behind her.

"Oh, please. Like you and Nick aren't going at it like rabbits in his room. You two aren't exactly quiet." Jess could hear the accusing tone in Cece's voice. She rolled her eyes as she finished and exited the stall heading for the sink to wash her hands.

"Jess… come on. Out with it!" Cece was sitting on the little bench underneath the towel rack. Jess washed her hands quickly and reached for a towel by Cece's head to dry them, leaning back into the wall.

"Well…" Cece encouraged. Jess just grinned at her. Cece got the gist.

"You two have been going at it for two months and it's still…"

"Oh yeah."

"Damn. Nick Miller… who knew?" Cece shook her head at her. "How is he doing after yesterday? Schmidt told me what happened at the bar."

"He seems fine. " Jess drew her eyebrows together. "Do you think I should talk to him about it?"

"Jess, the man could've died." Cece said as Jess looked at the floor. Jess didn't like to think about it. "Hey, I'm not saying this to upset you…"

"No I know." Jess started, a lump forming in her throat. "It's just… when I think of how close…" She stopped feeling tears in her eyes.

"Hey…" Cece got up and put her hand on her friends arm, "Nick is fine. He's alive, and he's with you. I just think you two need to talk about it. You know how Nick is with holding things in. It eats at him, and he still won't discuss it. Thats not healthy babe."

Jess nodded, twisting her mouth. "Yeah."

Cece gave her a weak smile. "I have to get back to Schmidt. He's getting whipped cream…"

Jess wrinkled her nose at Cece "I really didn't need to know that."

Cece winked and walked out of the bathroom. Jess looked at herself in the mirror. She brushed her teeth quickly and gave a quick fluff to her hair before walking back out of the bathroom and towards Nick's room. She opened the door slowly only to be yanked inside and be shoved back against it. In mere moments Nick was on her, hands everywhere, mouth on her neck.

"Nick… wait.." Jess gasped as Nick began unbuttoning the flannel she had on. He paused in his actions looking up at her eyes.

"What? Why?" He asked, his hand still clutching her shirt. He unbuttoned another button, moving on to the next. He smiled at her before kissing her again. She moaned underneath his lips as she felt his hands train inside the shirt circling her waist. Nick tore his mouth from hers and knelt in front of her…

"Oh, god." Jess moaned. "never mind, just don't stop doing… unnnngggghhh…"

* * *

_That was when he heard the roof of the basement splintering._

_Nick looked up, panicked. He could see boards beginning to snap. "Come on!" He grabbed Kaylee's hand and searched for the rails to the stairs._

_"What? No way! We can't go up there!" Kaylee shrieked at him tugging him back into the middle of the room. Nick swiveled around and stared at her._

_"It's the only way out. Either we go back and try and get out through the fire or…" He didn't want to think about or._

_Kaylee's eyes widened "Or we die." She began to hyperventilate clutching Nick's hand tighter._

_"Shit! Kaylee! You need to pull it together. We are going to get out of here, but I need your help, ok?" Nick gripped her hand peering into her eyes in the darkness. She nodded still breathing heavy. "I need to get that door open, alright? I need to see what we're dealing with. There are two exits. One is the entrance to the door, one is out the back that leads to the alley. It's through the office, ok?"_

_Kaylee nodded, tears filling her eyes as she tried to even out her breathing. Nick clutched her hand in his as he made his way through the darkness towards the stairs, climbing carefully. As they reached the top a board fell from the ceiling behind them. Kaylee jumped, pressing herself against Nick. He looked at her, she looked at him and both nodded._

_Nick swung the door open._

Nick bolted up from the floor and scrambled to the wall, pressing his back against it. He was breathing heavy, sweat dripping from his brow. Jess shot up from where she had been laying on the floor and looked at him. He was pale again, breathing labored and this time he was shaking.

"Nick?" She reached for him, but he drew away from her.

"I'm fine." He said as he got up off the floor grabbing his shirt and looking around for boxers.

"Nick you are not fine. Talk to me." Jess pleaded grabbing his hand as he walked by her. Nick shrugged her off as he threw on a pair of sweatpants.

"I just need to get some air. Really, Jess. I'm good." He gave her a tiny smile as he reached for the door and padded out of the room.

Jess watched him leave. She wanted to follow him badly but decided against it. maybe all he needed was some space, and she would give him that. One thing was certain though.

Nick Miller was not "fine."

**A/N**

**Ok so heres a couple things. **

**1. I can't believe some of you thought I would kill Nick! I love that man too much to kill him off. I would be an emotional wreck even attempting to write something like that. **

**2. I don't write smut. It's not that I disapprove, I'm just terrible at it. I never feel satisfied with what I write, so I do the buildup and then you guys can let your imagination take you wherever you want with that. **

**3. This is SO not the direction that I was going to take this story but, it popped in my head and I couldn't get rid of it, so there ya go.**

**And lastly, I'm going to try and update two more times in the upcoming week. I don't know if I'll actually get around to it, but the following week I'll be at the San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) so I won't be home to write anything.**

**HOPE YOU LIKED! PLEASE REVIEW!**

**-Casey**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N**

**First of all I would like to sincerely apologize for this taking so long. I went on vacation, then had an after vacation slump where I didn't feel like writing (or doing much of anything for that matter) and I couldn't figure out exactly where I wanted this to go.**

**Anyway. Sorry.**

**So here's chapter 11, please enjoy and review! :)**

Chapter 11

"He won't talk to me, Cece." Jess complained

They were sitting on the couch in the loft, feet curled up, glass of pink wine in hand. It was a week after what Jess had started referring to as "the incident" and things seemed normal. Emphasis on seemed. On the outside, Nick was his usual self, joking, yet generally grumpy, but Jess had started noticing the little things. He jumped at loud noises, didn't like to be around any type of open flame. One night, Jess had lit candles and Nick had broken out into a cold sweat. The worst, however, was that he wasn't sleeping. Jess would wake in the middle of the night and find herself alone, and cold, in an empty bed.

But he wouldn't talk about it, insisting that he was fine and that there was nothing to talk about. It was driving Jess insane.

"I don't know what to do." Jess continued. "I mean, I can't force him to talk to me about it. Maybe a psychiatrist?" Jess looked over at Cece and worried her lip.

"Babe, if he's not opening up to you, then there is no way Nick Miller is going to talk to a psychiatrist. Especially about feelings." Cece uncrossed her legs and set her wine on the coffee table. "I think you need to just give him time."

Jess sighed and rubbed her forehead. "It's getting worse Cece. I don't know how much more time to give him. Last night he didn't even come to bed. He stayed on the roof all night."

The roof had become Nick's place of solace. If he wasn't in the loft, you were more than likely going to find him on the roof. Since the bar burnt down, Nick spent most of his time here, except on rare occasions like tonight. Schmidt had managed to snag some baseball tickets from his work and he Nick and Winston were all at the game. Which meant Jess had the apartment to herself. That was when she had decided to call Cece. She needed to talk to someone.

Cece raised an eyebrow at Jess "He didn't come to bed at all?"

Jess shook her head. "No. He said he was going to go shower and he would be right in but he never showed up. He went straight to the damn roof." Jess took a shaky breath, "Cece, I'm really worried about him."

Cece reached out and wrapped an arm around Jess's shoulder. "I know." She rubbed Jess's arm.

Jess looked up at her, her eyes misty. "What do I do?"

Cece shook her head and shrugged. "I honestly don't know."

* * *

Nick, Schmidt and Winston stumbled into the loft at half past 2AM the next morning. The game had been fun, cheering, yelling and eating greasy stadium food. But Nick found himself unable to sit still. Every time the bat cracked against the ball, he jumped. People shouting and yelling made him twitch. He hated it. But Schmidt and Winston were having a good time, so he sat there, antsy waiting for the game to be over. Which would've been great if it hadn't gone into extra innings.

Nick was also exhausted. He couldn't and didn't want to sleep. Whenever he closed his eyes he saw flames, heard boards snapping and breaking, saw Kaylee's petrified face looking up at him, tears in her eyes. It was unbearable. So he went to the roof, it was cool and breezy up there. He could think when he was up there. But first, he wanted to check on Jess. Make sure she was ok. He knew that she was worried about him and saw right through his reassurances. He knew she wanted to talk, but he didn't. He didn't want to think about that day. Ever.

Nick said goodnight to Schmidt and Winston as they all made there way to their rooms. Nick quietly opened his door and peered inside. Jess was there, her back towards him, mane of curls spread over his pillow. He leaned on the doorframe for a second just admiring her. Jess meant more to him than she would ever know. Another reason he didn't want to bother her with his problems. They were his to deal with, she didn't need to be weighed down by them too.

Nick sighed and closed the door, heading for the bathroom. He quickly took a shower and grabbed his robe, throwing it over himself. He ran a hand through his wet hair and rubbed his eyes. God he was tired.

Nick made his way past the door to his room and headed for the roof again. This had become commonplace. Jess would find him there every morning and would great him with a warm cup of coffee. She wouldn't push him but he could see the concern in her eyes. But again, he wasn't going to talk to her about this. She didn't need it.

So to the roof he went as usual to wait out the night.

* * *

A few days later things came to a head. Jess was cooking dinner for everyone, sautéing peppers, onions and mushrooms on the stove top. Schmidt was watching her, a mug of coffee in his hand. He wanted to make sure that she, as he put it "didn't cross contaminate anything and kill them all." Jess had rolled her eyes at him and smacked his hand with a wooden spoon.

Winston was sitting at the counter watching Jess and Schmidt with an amused look on his face. Those two in the kitchen was kind of a deadly combination which always amused him to no end. It was usually an hour of bickering and smacking that he considered 'free entertainment.' His fingers were laced under his chin as he stared at the two some.

Nick was sitting on the couch ignoring everyone, eyes glued to the tv at some sports game. He didn't want to have anything to do with what was going on in the kitchen. He got enough of Schmidt's crap on a daily basis and didn't need to deal with his weird OCD kitchen tendencies.

"Jess why are you cooking dinner anyway?" Schmidt grumped from his place next to her, back against the counter, arms crossed in front of him as he glared at her.

Jess continued to stir her mixture in the skillet. She shrugged. "I don't know. I just felt like it. That ok with you?" The last came out a bit snarky. She was up to her ears with Schmidt's snippy comments as she cooked.

"You're using too much oil, you know." Schmidt smirked next to her.

"Schmidt… " she said warningly, holding up the spoon to his face. "I swear…"

Schmidt held his hands up in a surrender gesture. "Fine, fine. But when the food turns into a greasy heart attack.."

"Go sit down or I may kill you." Jess turned back to her sautéing and stirred some more. Schmidt rolled his eyes and headed for the couch. Nick looked over at him and raised his eyebrows. Schmidt grimaced at him.

"Your girlfriend is going to kill us all."

"No she isn't, Schmidt."

"Fine, but when you're in the hospital because you've had a heart attack, don't come crying to me." Schmidt leant back into the couch. Nick rolled his eyes at him and got up. He stretched his aching and tired muscles as he headed for the kitchen, his eyes catching the flames underneath the saucepan. He hesitated, taking a deep breath before marching to the fridge to grab a beer.

"You ok in there Jess?" he asked as he opened the fridge door. He reached in and grabbed a Heisler, trying his best to avoid looking at the flames. Nick could feel a cold sweat begin to break out on his skin. Stop it, he told himself. It's a little fire. It's not going to hurt you. Nick closed the door and leaned back against the fridge as he watched Jess cook.

"No, thanks, I'm fine. As long as Schmidt stays away from me." She grinned up at him.

Just then Jess flipped the the contents of the skillet up in the air and the whole thing caught on fire. Blue/red flames erupted from the top and shot towards the ceiling. Nick dropped his beer which smashed on the floor as he backed up, running into the dinning room table and knocking a chair over. His breathing was ragged, he was now dripping in a cold sweat.

"Nick?" Jess ran over to him, but he backed away from her. "Nick, it's ok. It's just a little fire."

'I'm fine, Jess." Nick gasped at her. He was still having trouble breathing as he backed farther away from her, but Jess followed him.

"Nick, you're not fine. Please talk to me." She begged reaching out to him. He shook his head, avoiding Jess's grasping hands, and walked further back into the living room.

"I said I'm ok."

"Nick please! This is not ok! YOU'RE not ok." Jess was still following him. Nick began to get angry. Why wouldn't she just let it be. Leave him alone. He wanted to deal with this whole thing on his own, why wouldn't she just let him.

"Jess I'm fine! Just, back off, alright?" He yelled at her, stopping so the stove was out of his eyesight. He took a deep breath.

"Nick, I'm you're girlfriend! You can talk to me! Please!" Jess stopped in front of him.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't be!" Nick screamed at her in frustration.

Jess gasped, the blood draining out of her face. She blinked several times in rapid succession, tears filling her eyes.

"You don't mean that…" she whispered, her bottom lip trembling.

Nick brought his hand up and rubbed the back of his neck. He sighed. "I gotta go… I just… I have to go." Nick turned and grabbed his keys from the hook by the door and left the apartment.

Jess stood stock still for a second. She pressed her lips together, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes.

"Jess?" Winston said from behind her, putting his hand on her shoulder. Jess shrugged it off and turned to look at him. Her eyes were glazed over with tears. She shook her head at him and headed for her room. Shutting the door behind her, she leaned her back against it, sobs wracking her. Jess slid to the floor and put her head against her knees.

And she cried.

**A/N**

**RUH ROH!**

**I know it wasn't very long, but the next part needed to be it's own chapter. Hope you liked! Please remember to review! **


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N**

**Two chapters in two days? WHAT?! **

**I felt like I owed you guys for taking almost a month break from this fic, so hey! Another chapter! Woot! **

**I mentioned before that I liked rain, yes? There's more of that in this chapter. I can't help it. Rain makes for good sexy times.**

**Anway, enough of me rambling! Enjoy chapter 12! Please review and let me know what you think!**

**-Casey**

Chapter 12

"Jess?" A quiet knock on her door came an hour later. Jess had picked herself up off the floor minutes before and dragged herself to the bed. She sat propped up against the headboard, knees drawn to her chest, arms wrapped around her legs.

Another knock. "Jess, can we come in?" Winston asked quietly, concern lacing his voice.

Jess nodded her head, then realized that they couldn't see that. "Yeah." she said softly, but loud enough for her voice to carry.

Winston entered the room, closely followed by Schmidt. Their faces were pinched in identical masks of concern. They made their way to the edge of the bed and perched on the side, next to Jess's feet.

"Hey, you ok?" Winston asked. He was sitting closest to her.

Jess looked at him incredulously. "No, Winston. I'm not ok. Do I look ok?"

Schmidt smacked him on the arm. "Move over, you have no idea how to comfort a woman. Jess?" He scooted next to her, knocking Winston aside and placed a hand on her foot. Jess grimaced at him until he removed it.

"Jess, it's going to be fine, you know that right?" Schmidt looked at her with pity in his eyes.

"Is it?" Jess asked shaking her head. She could feel the tears coming again and sniffled.

"Jess, Nick has never gone through something like this before. He just doesn't know how to deal with it, and when that happens, he takes his emotions out on other people. But, " Winston paused smiling over at Jess. " he is crazy about you. I've known Nick my whole life and I've never seen him like this with a woman before. Not even Caroline."

Jess blinked at the two of them, sniffling again. She wanted to believe what Winston said was true. She really did, but when Nick pushed her away it was the worst feeling she had ever experienced because she cared about him. So much so that it hurt. Physically hurt.

"Jess, he needs you." Winston continued. "You have to know that. Nick has opened up so much more since he met you. Hell, he actually smiles now." Winston chuckled. "You have no idea just how rare that is." Jess let a out a weak smile.

"You love him, don't you?" Winston asked quietly. Jess blinked at him, but didn't answer. She hadn't admitted it to herself, let alone anyone else yet, that yes. She had fallen in love with Nick Miller. Hell, she had loved him for awhile. Before he built her a dresser, before he decided to move in with Caroline, all the way back to that first week when he rescued her from being stood up. That was the day that she had fallen in love with Nick Miller. She realized this now. Jess took a deep breath preparing to reveal to her roommates what she had only just now admitted to herself, but Winston cut her off.

"Yeah, thats what I thought." He stated simply. He patted her on the knee. "Then go find him." Winston smiled at her. "You're the only one thats going to get through to him." He tilted his head at her, searching her face. "Find him. Help him. He NEEDS you."

Jess sniffled again but smiled. She blinked a couple of times and wiped the remaining tears from her eyes. She nodded her head rapidly, bringing her knees down, and hugged Winston, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Thank you." she whispered before releasing him and turning towards the door, running out of her room.

She didn't know where Nick was, but, with a look of determination, she grabbed her coat and he keys and exited the loft.

Winston turned to Schmidt as Jess left the house. "Who says I don't know how to comfort a woman?"

* * *

Nick drove.

He wasn't exactly sure where he was headed, but he needed to get out of there. Out of the loft, out of the city. Away from everything. He needed to think without all the distractions. Well, one distraction in particular.

Nick didn't know what had caused him to say what he said to Jess. The look on her face when she said "You don't mean that" was pure anguish and he knew he was the cause of it. It ate at him. He caused that. Nick thunked his hand against the steering wheel, frustration and anger boiling inside of him. He was such an idiot.

Nick got on the 10 freeway, his mind unfocused. He shook his head trying to clear his thoughts. He knew he should go back to the loft and apologize to Jess. Apologize for hurting her, for not being able to open up to her, for… everything. But he didn't want to see her right now. He didn't want to see anyone. He just needed to be alone. To think.

A few minutes later Nick pulled off the freeway and parked. Staring at the scene in front of him He didn't know what had possessed him to come here, but he was here now.

Nick exited the car and headed for the sand.

* * *

Jess was getting frantic. It was getting late and a storm was rolling in. Already a few drops of rain had landed on her windshield, just enough for her to need to turn on the defroster, but not enough that she needed the wipers. Jess had looked at a few bars in the city that she knew Nick liked, had gone to the park, to the bench where he had met Tran… nothing.

She had one more place to look. Jess just wanted to find him, to tell him that everything was going to be fine, that she was here for him no matter what. To tell him that… she loved him.

Jess pulled off of the freeway and almost immediately saw Nick's car. She felt her panic ease just a little bit and her heart fluttered in her chest. Thank god he was here. She should've known that this was where he would come. Jess parked her car next to his and got out, the breeze coming off the ocean blowing her hair around her face and whipping her skirt around her thighs. She pushed her main of curls out of her eyes and behind her ears. Jess bent down and took her shoes off, throwing them into the backseat of her car, slamming the door behind her.

She made her way through the eerily cold sand, her arms gripping her cardigan and pulling it tighter around her. The crashing of the waves was comforting. She always loved the beach. The sand, the surf, the sun. It was one of her favorite places to go. Jess looked up and squinted her eyes against the dying sun. She looked farther down the beach and spotted him, sitting a few yards off. He was sitting with his legs drawn up to his chest, his arms crossed and resting on top of his knees. He stared straight ahead as Jess made her way over to him.

She sat down quietly next to him, crossing her legs and stared out at the ocean with him. Not a word was spoken. They just sat there in silence, the breeze whipping their hair and fluttering their clothes. It wasn't unpleasant, but it was slightly cold for August. They could see lightning in the distance.

It had to be close to an hour later when Nick finally spoke. Jess heard him breathe a deep sigh next to her and felt his eyes on her, but she didn't look at him, continuing to stare out at the ocean.

"Why did you come here, Jess." Nick asked.

Jess didn't answer at first. Thunder boomed above her head as she thought about how to answer that question. Because she was here for him? Because she thought he needed her as much as she need him? Because… she loved him?

"I was worried about you." Jess replied simply. A few drops of rain had fallen on her, and it was starting to get colder. Uncharacteristically cold for August…in Los Angeles.

Nick sighed and stared back out at the ocean. Dammit. He was glad she was there with him. He was always glad when she was around, but he wished she hadn't come.

"You shouldn't have come after me." Nick said blankly, his eyes still focused on the waves crashing in front of him.

Jess blinked rapidly. He didn't want her there. She felt like it was a punch in the gut. He didn't want her. She took a deep breath. "Why?" she asked, she could here the crack in her voice, and she hated it. She hated that she was so vulnerable around him. Winston said that Nick needed her, but it was just the opposite. She needed him. Maybe too much.

"Because I can't… think when you're around. I can't… " Nick shook his head. "This is something I need to deal with on my own. It's my problem, Jess, not yours."

Jess felt the tears in her eyes. Dammit, she didn't want to cry again, she was sick of crying! Enough was enough.

"Nick this isn't just your problem." Jess looked over at him, giving him a weak smile.

Nick shook his head. "Yes it is Jess."

That was it. Now Jess was angry. Why was he continually pushing her away? She just wanted to be there for him!

"No it's not, Nick! Dammit, "Jess stood up and maneuvered herself in front of him so he had no choice but to look up at her. "We are together! You and me! Your problems, well they're my problems too. Whether you like it or not, I'm here. You're not going to push me away again!" Jess fists were balled at her side, she was breathing heavy, her chest puffing up and down.

Nick glared at her as he got to his feet. "Jess, you don't need this!" He yelled back at her grabbing her upper arms and giving her a small shake. "Just let me deal on my own!"

Jess stood her ground and glared right back at him. "No." She said, through clenched teeth.

Nick looked at her incredulously "No?"

"You heard me. No!"

"Why are you doing this?!"

"Because I love you!" Jess shouted at him her breathing ragged.

Nick opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. "What did you just say?" He asked quietly.

Jess took a shaky breath. "I said… I love you."

Nick's hands on her arms tightened and he looked down at his feet. She loved him. Jessica Day. Jessica freaking Day, his roommate, the woman he had been head over heels with for so long, loved him. He shook his head from side to side, trying to clear his thoughts, but all he could hear over and over again in his head was Jess admitting that she loved him.

"Nick?" Jess asked. He had been quiet for too long. It was scaring her. She tilted her head to try and look in his eyes. "Nick?" she asked again.

Nick finally brought his head up and looked at her. "Why?"

Jess's brow furrowed, confusion plastered on her face. "Why what?"

Nick took a shallow breath. "Why do you love me?"

Jess blinked at him, a tiny smile appearing on her ruby lips. "You want to know why I love you?" she asked quietly. Nick nodded his head staring deep into her eyes. "I love you because you're… you. You're the best thing that has happened to me in … ever. You're smart, and you make me laugh, you're always there when I need you. Always. I don't know how I would've made it through this last year without you. I love your weirdness. It fits so well with mine. I even love your turtle face. Yeah, that one." Jess smiled at the frown that had appeared on Nick's face. "I love you because…. I can't not." Jess felt the pinprick of tears in her eyes and she struggled to hold them back. She waited impatiently for Nick to say something, but he just stood there, staring at her.

"Nick?" Jess whispered. "Please say something."

Nick just stood there, staring at her. A blank look plastered on his face.

"Nick?"

Slowly a smile lit up Nick's entire face. His pulled her to him and his mouth descended on hers in a passionate kiss. Jess groaned into his mouth as her arms wrapped around his neck. Nick released her arms and planted his hands on her back, pushing her into him as much as he could. She moulded her body into his and as her lips moved on his, it started to rain. Not a light rain either, a downpour.

The two broke apart and looked up at the sky. "Seriously?!" Jess shouted.

"Jess! I'm sorry1" Nick said shouting over the rain.

"For what?!" Jess shouted back.

"Everything. For not talking to you. For not trusting you with whats going on. I'm not ok, I'm not. And I should've told you from the start." Nick pushed her wet hair off of her face.

"Nick, it's ok!"

"No, it's not!" Nick shouted back as another bolt of lightning and clap of thunder roared overhead. "Jess, I'm sorry. I should've told you this a long time ago…"

Jess shook her head, water droplets flinging off her soaking hair. "Told me what?!"

"That I…" thunder cut him off.

"What?" Jess shouted.

"I…" another roar of thunder.

"Dammit! THAT I LOVE YOU TOO!" Nick shouted as loud as he could over the rain.

Jess gasped, and began to laugh and sniffle at the same time. Nick loved her, and she loved him. Jess took the few steps forward until she was once again plastered against him. She wrapped an arm around his neck, buried a hand in his hair and brought his head down for another earth shattering kiss.

* * *

Later that night, after they had both driven home and changed out of their sopping wet clothes, the couple laid in bed, Nick on his back, Jess curled up to his chest. One of Nick's hands was playing with her hair while the other was curled around Jess's fingers that were resting on his chest.

"Jess?" Nick's hand stilled in her hair.

"Mmm?"

"I can't sleep." He said quietly, barely above a whisper.

Jess looked up at him but didn't say anything, sensing that he had more to say.

"Every time I close my eyes…" He continued, taking a shuddering breath, "I see flames… and… I just…"

"Shhhh…" Jess stopped him, giving him a small smile. "I'm here ok? I'm going to be right here. You have nothing to worry about. I'm not going anywhere." She reached up and gave him a tiny kiss before once again laying her head down on his chest.

"Jess?"

"Yes Nicholas?"

"I love you."

Jess smiled into Nick's shirt. "I love you too."

**A/N**

**AWWWWWW...**

**Hehe...**

**Anyway, I may have another chapter for you sometime this week, but I can't promise anything. Please review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N**

**HI GUYS!**

**Ok, so this chapter is more of a "lets catch up with Cece and Schmidt" chapter. Nick is only in the beginning, but it's one of my favorites so I hope you enjoy it!**

**Also: shout out to barbramana1, rose coloured glasses, jenna and End80 for always leaving sweet comments. I really appreciate them! 3**

**Please review! :)**

Chapter 13:

A few months past. Summer had turned to autumn, the leaves had changed and now there was a distinct nip in the air. Nick had been sleeping, finally. After admitting their love for one another, Nick had told Jess everything; the fire, rescuing Kaylee, the dreams. It took a weight off his shoulders. A weight that he didn't even know he was carrying. It allowed him to relax. Telling Jess about his problems, his frustrations and his fears had been just what he had needed. She didn't judge, she didn't pry, she just sat there and held him, letting him pour out everything.

It was early October, Jess had started school five weeks pryer, getting and setting up her classroom. She was excited to finally be back to teaching children again. It was her passion, what she was born to do. Nick had helped her pick out posters and supplies for her room and they had set it up one lazy Thursday afternoon. Somehow in the midst of hanging up posters, and putting crayons and pens away in the supply cabinet, they had gotten into a paint war. Blue streaks ran up and down Jess's arms, Nick had orange paint splattered throughout his hair. The had been laughing and giggling like children, stopping only when Jess's boss had come in to see what the ruckus was.

Nick was working at another of Mick's bars. He was placed on night shifts, working from 7pm to 3:30 am. The staff was friendly, and welcomed him with open arms. It wasn't the same kind of bar that Nick was used to though. This one was fancier. Nick was required to wear a dressy button down and tie every night, much to Jess's delight. She loved coming into the bar, grabbing Nick by the tie and pulling him across the counter for a kiss. In fact, any night that Jess's didn't have anything to do for the school, she would come into the bar. And that's exactly what she would do immediately upon entering. Nick would protest and complain and swat at her for doing it, but they both knew he loved it.

It was a Saturday morning, Nick and Jess were cuddled up in Jess's bed still sleeping, Jess curled into Nick's arms, her head tucked under his chin. A light drizzle was falling outside and it was chilly in the loft, the heater having broken the week before. Nick had attempted to fix it, but had given up after beating the device with a wrench several times. Jess shifted in he sleep, snuggling deeper into Nick's chest for warmth as his arms tightened around her. She sighed.

And then the door banged open, smacking against the wall. "Jess! Thank God!" Cece screeched into the room, stopping when she saw the chaos she had created. The sound of the door slamming had caused Nick to shift and pull back from Jess, who at the same time jumped and smacked the top of her head into his nose.

"Ow ow ow! Damn it!" Nick sat up in bed holding his nose which was starting to turn an ugly purple color. He winced in pain as his hands clutched his bruised and battered nose.

"Oh my god, Nick! Are you ok?" Jess sat up next to him and attempted to pry his hands away from his face. She rounded on Cece. "Jesus, Cece, don't you knock?!" she shouted, but stopped short at the panicked look on Cece's face. "Cece… what is it?'

Cece looked momentarily stunned. She shook her head and took a deep breath. "I really need to talk to you." She whispered, worrying her lip.

Jess nodded. "Ok. Give me a few minutes, I'll meet you in the living room."

"Actually, can we uh…. go out. I need to talk to you in private…" Her eyes shifted to Nick then back to Jess. She shuffled on her feet.

Jess blinked several times. "Umm.. ok sure. I need to change..."

Cece rapidly nodded and exited the room. Jess turned back to Nick who was still clutching his nose.

"Let me see." she said gently, cupping Nick's hands in her tiny ones, and moving them away from his face. She put them down in his lap and brought her hands back up to Nick's nose prodding it gently causing Nick to wince. "It's just bruised, not broken, thank God." She said, leaning forward and placing a gentle kiss on it's tip.

Nick grimaced. "Not broken. Well, that's something I guess." He motioned his head towards the door. "What the hell was all that about?"

Jess furrowed her brow and shook her head, "I'm not sure, but I have to go."

Nick frowned, turtle face in place. "But, it's Saturday… I thought we had plans." He whined.

"I know, but…."

"Jess, come on! It's the first day we've both had free in a month…" He trailed his hand down her arm. "I had plans for you and that lingerie that you bought…." Nick waggled his eyebrows at her, causing Jess to giggle. She maneuvered into Nick's lap, resting her arms on his shoulders, her knees planted on either side of his thighs.

"I'll make it up to you." She leaned down and kissed him firmly. "I promise."

"I'm holding you to that, Day." He grabbed her hips and squashed her to him, kissing her until she was breathless.

* * *

"Cece, what are we doing here?" Jess asked as Cece parked her expensive car in front of CVS. She put the parking break on and flipped the engine off.

"I…." Cece started, taking a deep breath. "I… uh…."

"Cece, you're scaring me. What's going on?" Jess turned toward her best friend, a her face pinched in concern. Cece was nervous, twisting her hands in her lap and avoiding direct eye contact with Jess. Cece was NEVER nervous and, frankly, it was freaking Jess out.

Cece let out a gust of air, finally looking Jess directly in the eyes. "IthinkImightbepregnant." It was said so fast that Jess wasn't sure she heard her right.

"What?" she asked.

"I think I might be pregnant." Cece said it slower gasping on the last word. She pressed her lips firmly together, her eyes wide and staring at Jess, a dazed look on her face.

"Oh my god, are you sure?" Jess said, reaching out and grabbing her best friends hand. This wasn't Cece's first pregnancy scare so Jess needed all the information she could get.

Cece shook her head, "I don't know but…" She gulped again, "My boobs are sore, I threw up this morning not to mention I'm late…"

Jess nodded, "Ok… ok. Lets umm…"

"Jess, I need to take a pregnancy test and… I couldn't do it alone. I can't tell Schmidt. Not until I know for sure, after the way he acted last time…" Cece took a deep breath. "I needed my best friend."

Jess nodded, "Of course Cece, lets head inside and… well, see what happens."

The two exited the car and Jess immediately linked her arms with Cece's for support. They walked through the pharmacy, Jess snagging a basket on the way. The pair walked towards the feminine care aisle. Each step felt heavy to Cece. She felt like she could hyperventilate and any moment. Jess tightened her grip on Cee's arm sensing her tension.

The stopped in front of the pregnancy tests and Cece froze, eyes wide. "Jesus, how many are there?" The stood in front of the display dumbfounded. Their were at least 40 different kinds staring back at them. Names like EPT, Clearblue, and First Response. screamed back at them. It was daunting.

"Wow, um…" Jess shook her head, blowing her hair out of her eyes. "Maybe uh… we should get a couple. Just to, you know, make sure?" Jess looked over at Cece who nodded.

"Yeah."

Jess grabbed a pink box and placed it in the basket while Cece grabbed a blue one. Once the basket was full, they made their way up to the register, stopping only twice. Once for ice cream, the other for candy. Cece paid and they made their way back to the car. Cece threw the bag into the backseat, and flipped on the engine, making her way toward her apartment.

* * *

"How many minutes has it been?" Cece asked, sitting on her couch. Her feet were curled underneath her, glass of water in hand. She had just taken the first test and it was staring at the both of them from its perch on the coffee table. Jess looked at the timer on her phone.

"Two minutes." Jess placed her hand on Cece's knee. "You doing ok?" She asked.

Cece bit her lip. "I honestly don't know what I'm feeling. I'm in shock, definitely. And... it's not that I don't want children, because I do. Hell, that's why I almost went through with the whole wedding fiasco. But, if I'm pregnant, this is not how I thought it would go."

Jess nodded. "Yeah. I get it."

Cece looked at Jess quizzically, "How do you get it? You've never had to take one before…. have you?"

Jess took a deep breath. "Once, three years ago."

Cece gaped at her best friend. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Jess grimaced. "Because I was stupid. Spencer was being an ass, and I just… panicked." Jess shrugged. "So I took the test, it came back negative and then a week later I caught Spencer cheating and it never crossed my mind again. After that I was focused on moving and starting over so…"

Cece gave Jess a tight lipped smile. "You shouldn't have had to go through that alone. You could've called me."

"I know." Jess said. "I just wasn't thinking clearly and I freaked out. Almost crashed my car into the drug store racing to get there. But that's all in the past." Jess's phone beeped indicating it was time to look. "You ready?" She asked Cece whose eyes were fixed on the pregnancy test sitting on the coffee table. She gave a tiny nod and reached for it but quickly snatched her hand back.

"I can't…" She looked at Jess. "Jess I can't… can you just…" She indicated towards the test.

Jess nodded and reached out, picking the plastic test. Two pink lines stared back at her. Positive. She looked at Cece. "It's positive."

Cece bit her lip, tears welling in her eyes. Jess reached out and pulled her best friend into a hug. "Hey, hey I'm here. Lets… lets take another one. Maybe it's a false positive. Come on. " Jess pulled back and grabbed her shoulders, gently easing her up of the couch and giving her a gentle shove towards the bathroom where the other pregnancy tests awaited her arrival.

4 tests later, there was no doubt in either girl's mind.

Cece was pregnant.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14:

Jess perched herself on Cece's coffee table while Cece laid on the couch, arms thrown over her eyes, legs stretched out in front of her. Jess looked at her phone for the time noting that it had almost been an hour since the two had spoken. Cece just laid there, stock still except for the gentle rise and fall of her chest.

"Cece?" Jess finally asked, reaching forward and gently prying Cece's arms off of her eyes. "Do you want to talk?" Jess couldn't stand the silence any longer. Silence drove her crazy.

Cece shifted her eyes to her best friend. "No." she said flatly before throwing her arms back over her eyes again.

Jess sighed heavily. She wanted to be there for her friend. She wanted to say something, anything to make her feel better, but nothing sprang to mind. What exactly were you supposed to say to your best friend when they find out they were unexpectedly pregnant? Jess bit her lip, staring at Cece, pondering just how to get her to open up about her current situation.

"Jess, stop staring at me." Cece brought her arms down. "It's creepy."

"Sorry." Jess mumbled. "I just…"

"Stop." Cece interupted, finally sitting up on her couch. "Just stop. Theres nothing you can say here. So just… stop."

Jess pursed her lips together. She was a nurturer by nature. If she saw someone in pain, someone confused, or someone angry, she always wanted to be the one to fix it. Cece shook her head at her, her hair fanning her face as she swiveled her legs so she sat correctly on the couch. She took a deep breathe before emitting a quiet "Oh god…" and burying her head in her hands, her elbows resting on her knees.

"Cece…"

"Jess…" Cece's head suddenly shot up, a look of panic on her face. "Jess, you can't tell anyone, ok? No one, not Nick, not Winston, DEFINITELY not Schmidt."

Jess nodded "Of course…"

Cece ignored her, "Because I swear to God, if you do…." Cece gave her a stern look. "you know what I'm capable of."

Jess gulped, nodding quickly. "Promise."

* * *

Jess arrived home a little after three, exhausted after the mornings events. She had finally managed to get Cece off of the couch and to her phone to make an appointment with her gynecologist for the following Monday. Jess had readily agreed to go with her since she still, despite Jess's pleadings, refused to tell Schmidt what was going on. Jess had left Cece wrapped in her comforter on the couch, a container of ice cream clutched in her hand, and sappy romantic movies playing on the television. Jess knew that that really wasn't how Cece coped with stressful situations, but since she couldn't have alcohol, it was all she could think of.

Jess sighed heavily, throwing her keys on the ring by the door. It had been a long day and it wasn't even over yet. She leaned back against the door and closed her eyes. What she would give for a hot shower and a nap right now.

"Jess?"

Jess popped her eyes back open to see Nick coming around the corner and approaching her. He had a Heisler pressed up against his now purple/yellow nose.

"You ok?" He asked, slinging an arm around her shoulders and bending to kiss the top of her head. Jess closed her eyes and smiled at the gesture.

"I'm fine, just tired…" she said, letting out a tiny yawn as she wrapped an arm around his waist and leaned into his side. Nick directed them both towards the couch and the two collapsed onto it. Nick grabbed the remote and flicked the channel to some nature show as Jess kicked off her ballet flats and snuggled deeper into his side. She let out a contented sigh and closed her eyes.

"You sure you're ok?" She heard Nick ask again as he shifted to get more comfortable, draping his arm over her shoulders and rubbing her arm.

"I'm good. Just, lots of drama."

"What kind of drama?" Nick asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice. Jess yawned into his shirt.

"I can't tell you. Girl drama." Jess felt Nick shift and opened her eyes, looking up at him. "What?" she asked.

Nick had his eyebrows furrowed together, and his mouth drawn down into his typical annoyed turtle face. "You can't tell me?" he asked.

Jess bit her lip and cursed herself. Why had she even opened her mouth to begin with? She should've just said that everything was fine and nothing as going on. Dammit. "No, I can't tell you."

Nick twisted his mouth at her. "You can't tell me…. " He shook his head. "Why not?"

Jess sighed and untangled herself from around him. "Because I promised someone I wouldn't." she said simply.

"You promised someone you wouldn't…"

"Nick, would you please stop repeating everything that I'm saying?" She ran her hands through her hair. "Look, I just can't tell you, ok? It's personal."

Nick just stared at her for a second before asking, "Jess, should I be worried here or…?"

Jess looked at him incredulously. "What? No! No, Nick, it's not _me_ personal it's _Cece_ personal and I can't tell you because she told me not to tell anyone and as much as I love you, you can't keep a secret to save your life. Your back turns into a slip n' slide and you break after about a minute of questioning."

"Hey!… well, yeah, ok, that's true. But still!" Nick fake pouted at her until Jess reached up and stroked his five o'clock shadow. He grinned at her. "You know… you're lucky I love you." He said, tilting his head to the side and giving her a wink.

She smiled at him. "I know." She said as she reached up and gave him a gentle kiss. As she went to pull away, Nick wrapped his arms around her and pulled her onto his lap. Jess let out a little gasp but didn't pull away as he deepened the kiss.

Finally, the two breathless, they broke apart foreheads pressed together as they caught their breath. Nick bent his head and gave her two more tiny kisses before giving her a light smack on the butt and lifting her off of him.

"So, you want to get dinner?" He asked, heading towards the kitchen where his phone was sitting on the counter. Jess stared after him.

"Wait." She said and Nick stopped in his tracks. He turned to look at her, raising his eyebrows. "That's it? You're… you're not going to… to bug me about it until I tell you what it is?"

Nick walked back over to Jess and put his hands on her arms, leaning down to stare her in the eyes. "Jess, it's none of my business. If it's between you and Cece, it should stay between the two of you. " He shrugged. "Besides, if it's really important, I'll probably find out eventually anyway…" He grinned at her and walked back over to his phone. "So, pizza?"

Jess blinked a few times at him then smiled. "Sure."

**A/N**

**OK! I KNOW! Total filler chapter, and I am absolutely NOT HAPPY WITH IT, but it is what it is. I originally had Jess tell Nick everything which in turn had Nick folding and telling Schmidt everything and then Schmidt confronts Cece who in turn gets pissed at Jess… However, it didn't seem true to Nick's character that he would beg Jess to tell him. In "Secrets" when Winston tries to tell Nick about Cece and Schmidt sleeping together he puts his hands over his ears and screams "I don't want to know!" So I tried to stay true to Nick not wanting to know a secret… **

**But! I now know how the next chapter is going to go because of this! So yay! I should have it up later this week because I have 3 days off! Yay!**

**Also: If you're interested, I wrote a small one-shot called "Cabin at the Lake" that I actually REALLY love, so if you'll check that out, I'd appreciate it (and review if you're so inclined).**

**PLEASE REVIEW! :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N**

**Hey Roomfriends! So here's chapter 15! I absolutely ADORE this chapter so I hope you like it!**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

Chapter 15

Jess tapped her foot in time to the soft music playing in the lobby of Sadie's office as she waited for Cece. It was 4:30 in the afternoon on Monday and Jess was exhausted. Her students had been more chaotic than normal, bouncing around the classroom and throwing paper that Jess had finally given up and thrown a movie on the tv. At least that quieted them down. As soon as the bell had rung indicated that the school day was over, her students had fled her classroom like a pack of wildebeests and Jess slumped in her chair. She finished whatever paperwork she could until 3:30 when she had agreed to pick up Cece.

Cece had been silently the whole drive over, her head pressed up against the window as she watched the streets of LA drift past. Jess didn't push her to talk, which went against every fiber of her being. But she knew that Cece needed to think, so Jess reached out and silently took her best friends hand as they made their way to the OBGYNs.

Now, almost 30 minutes later, Jess sat alone in the waiting room while Sadie took Cece back for tests. Jess blew out a sigh and leant her head back against the rubbery surface of the ice cold waiting room chair. She closed her eyes and sat stock still. Her students had really done a number on her today and all Jess wanted to was to curl up on the bed in Nick's arms and go to sleep. She felt her phone vibrate softly from her purse on the floor and she reached down to grab it. Hitting the home button, she saw a text from Nick flash on the screen.

_Hey, where are you? Thought you'd be home already._

_Hey, sorry. Had to run a couple errands. I'll be home by six. Promise._

_K. Love you._

Jess smiled as she text back _Love you too._

Jess had just leant her head back agains the cushion and closed her eyes again when she heard her name being called softly.

"Jess?" Sadie peered around the door leading to the exam rooms.

Jess popped her eyes open and looked up as Sadie tilted her head, indicating that she should follow her. Jess bent down and picked up her tiny heart-shaped purse and followed Sadie back to her office.

"I thought Cece may need the moral support when I read the results." Sadie said quietly before pushing her office door open, letting Jess enter the room first.

Cece sat in one of the two chairs in front of Cece desk, her ankles crossed. She was playing with her hands nervously as she watched Jess and Sadie enter the room, Jess taking a seat next to her, Sadie sitting in the chair behind the desk. Cece bit her lip as Sadie opened the manilla folder in front of her and pulled out a piece of paper. Jess reached over once again and took her best friends hand, but Cece seemed not to notice, all her attention focused on the paper that Sadie had just pulled out of the folder.

"Well Cece, " Sadie began as put the paper back down on her desk and clasped her hands in front of her and giving her a small smile, "you are pregnant. About eight weeks along by my estimate…" and Sadie began talking about making future doctors appointments and prenatal vitamins, but Jess wasn't paying attention anymore. Her eyes were plastered to Cece who had pressed her lips together into a tight line. Jess squeezed her hand tighter, noticing Cece's eyes had begun to well up.

"So you need to make your next appointment in a month to check up on the babies progress. I can do that right now if you'd like?" Sadie ended. Cece gave her a tiny nod and Sadie smiled at her.

And that was it, a new appointment was planned and Sadie's receptionist had given Cece a little reminder card with the date. The two made their way out of the office and headed for the elevator. As the doors dinged shut, Jess heard Cece emit a tiny sob. She immediately grabbed Cece and pulled her into a hug and Cece cried on her shoulder.

* * *

Later that night, Jess laid in bed, flat on her back, eyes wide open. She couldn't sleep. As exhausted as she was, her mind wouldn't shut up. Nick had fallen asleep about an hour ago, his head laying on her stomach, arm thrown around her waist. Jess absentmidedly ran her hand through his hair as he slept. She stared at the ceiling, her mind drifting to Cece. Jess had driven her home in silence. She offered to stay the night with her, but Cece had waved her away with a small hiccuped "I'm ok. I'll call you tomorrow."

Now Jess couldn't sleep. Her mind wouldn't shut up about Cece and kids which in turn made her think of her own biological clock. Then her thoughts would drift to Nick, and then kids with Nick. She kept picturing a little brown eyed boy and a little blue eyed girl...

Jess sighed heavily and shifted on the bed. She felt Nick grunt against her stomach, as he shifted and opened one eye. "Jess?" he mumbled sleepily, propping his head up on her stomach. He squinted at her in the dark. "Why are you still awake?"

She smiled at him and stroked his day old stubble. "Can't sleep. My brain won't shut up."

Nick shifted so his arms were on either side of her legs, putting all his weight on his elbows he looked at her through lidded eyes. "I know one sure fire way to make you sleepy." He said as he waggled his eyebrows at her. Jess laughed as Nick crawled up her body and planted small kisses on her chest and neck.

Jess reached up and pushed at his shoulders. "I'm actually not in the mood." She said as Nick pulled away and gave her a look.

"You? You're not in the mood? The girl who practically mauled me in the shower yesterday?" He said, drawing his eyes together.

Jess scoffed. "Me? I was innocently taking a shower when you decided you just HAD to join…."

"What?! You were in there, all naked and soapy. What was I supposed to do? Besides, didn't stop you from throwing yourself at me as soon as I got in." He grinned at her. "Not that I'm complaining or anything."

Jess shook her head and let out a small laugh. She shrugged her shoulders. "I… I just don't feel like it…"

Nick maneuvered himself so he was sitting up next to her, his back against the headboard. "Alright Jess, spill."

Jess drew her eyebrows down. "It's… it's nothing." She maneuvered so she was laying on her side away from him. "Go back to sleep." She mumbled closing her eyes.

Nick knew better than to let Jess stew. She would end up getting pissed about something else and then they would get into an argument and… Nope, that wasn't happening. He put his hand on her shoulder and forced her to turn to look at him. "Jess, c'mon. Talk to me."

Jess sighed again, and heaved herself up so she was also sitting with her back against the headboard. "Do you ever think about…" She hesitated. This may be to strong of a subject for Nick, and she really didn't want to scare him off. Last thing she needed was Nick panic moonwalking away from her in the middle of the night.

Nick raised his eyebrows. "What?"

Jess blew out a breath she didn't know she had been holding in. "You ever think about having kids?"

Nick's eyes grew wide and he brought his hand up to rub the back of his neck. "Kids, wow. Um…" He twisted his mouth. "I dunno. I mean… I've never really had a reason to think about it."

"But I mean…" Jess grimaced at him. "I mean… you do… want kids right?"

Nick shrugged. "Yeah, sure. Eventually…. but not right now… I mean hell, I'm a bartender, I cook bacon with butter, I'm a barely functioning man-child. I'm definitely not ready for them. Wait…" Nick's eyes grew wide. "You're not…"

Jess shook her head rapidly, "No! No, I'm not…"

Nick let out a shaky breath. "Christ, Jess. Don't do that to me." He rubbed his hand down his face, the panic leaving his eyes. "Jesus…" he muttered.

Jess smiled and rubbed his arm. "You ok there, Nick?"

Nick nodded, "Yeah, yeah, I'm good." He turned to look at her, bringing his hand up and pushing a strand of hair behind Jess's ear. "What brought this on?" he asked.

Jess shrugged. "I dunno, with Cece being pregnant and all…" Suddenly Jess brought her hand up and slapped it over her mouth, her eyes wide staring at Nick in panic. She did NOT just blurt that out… Maybe he didn't hear it, Jess thought. Please God, tell me he didn't hear…

But alas Nick's mouth dropped open and his eyes got so wide that Jess was afraid they were going to pop out of his head. "WHAT?!" He shouted. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN CECE'S…." but Jess lunged forward and threw her hand over his mouth before he could spit out that last dreaded word. The two ended up sprawled horizontally on the bed, Jess on top of Nick, her hand still covering his mouth. Suddenly there was a banging on Jess's bedroom door.

"Will you two keep it down?" Winston yelled inside. "I'm trying to get my eight hours! For the love of…" he mumbled as he walked away, slamming his door shut.

Jess slowly lifted her hand from Nick's mouth, peering into his eyes. She scrambled off of him and sat cross legged on the bed while Nick adjusted himself so he could sit across from her. "Cece's pregnant?!" He whispered over at her, his eyes still bugging out of his head.

Jess rubbed her hand over her eyes before letting it fall to her lap. "You can't tell anyone, Nick. I promised Cece…" She trailed off, looking at him in panic. "I promised Cece that I wouldn't say anything until she talked to Schmidt. Please. I know you suck with secrets but for the love of God, Miller, I'm begging you. As your girlfriend, please keep it together and don't tell Schmidt." She tilted her head to the side. "Or Winston." She added as an afterthought.

Nick just shook his head in wonder. "Cece's pregnant… Schmidt's going to be a dad…"

Jess snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Hey, Miller! Listen to me! You can't tell him, you hear me! Not a word."

"Jess, you know I can't keep a secret…"

Jess grabbed his shoulders and shook him gently. "You're going to have to try! You hear me! I can't…" She bit her lip and looked at him pleadingly. "Please Nick…"

Nick took a deep breath. "I'll try…" he said. "But I can't guarantee anything…"

Jess closed her eyes in relief. "Thank you." She said, leaning forward and giving him a small kiss.

* * *

The next morning Jess sat at the counter eating her cereal. It was 6:30. She didn't have to be at the school for another hour and she was enjoying the moment. A dim light was streaming through the windows and it was quiet in the loft. One of these rare moments where she was the only one awake. She took another bite of cereal when she heard the pitter patter of bare feet on hardwood flooring. She looked up and saw Nick in his low hung sweat pants and baggy green shirt coming toward her. His hair was all disheveled from sleep and his eyes were still glassy. Jess grinned at him. He looked adorable.

"Mornin'" Jess said and held up the box of cereal next to her. "Cereal?" she asked. Nick grunted and headed for the fresh pot of coffee that Jess had brewed when she got up.

After Nick had poured himself a generous pot of coffee he came up next to Jess and leaned down to wrap an arm around her and kiss her on the head before taking a seat next to her at the counter. The two sat in silence, each enjoying the quiet in the loft.

"You look tired." Jess said, reaching over and ruffling Nick's hair, making it even more messy than it had already been.

Nick set his coffee down and looked at her. "I am tired. I didn't get much sleep after you told me about Cece..."

"What about Cece?" Schmidt suddenly emerged from his room, stretchy blue running shorts on. He raised an eyebrow at Nick.

Nick's eyes widened in panic. "Nothin! Hey… pal! Whats… whats going on? How are you? Everything good?" Nick was talking too fast. Jess had the urge to reach over and smack him on the back of the head. And she would've, if it wouldn't raise suspicion.

Schmidt looked at him confused. "I'm uh… good. What were you saying about Cece? I haven't heard from her in a few days and I'm starting to get worried." He grimaced at the two of them.

Jess spoke up before Nick could embarrass himself. "Yeah. She's been super busy. You know…" Jess waved her hand around "Modeling and what not."

"Yeah!" Nick spoke up. Jess glared at him, but he didn't notice. "Modeling and stuff. You know… strutting, posing…" Jess could see sweat start to drip off Nick's forehead. She shot a quick glance at his back. Crap. Slip N' Slide.

Schmidt started doing a few stretches by his bedroom door. "You sure that's all it is?" He asked, placing one hand on his hip and stretching his opposite arm. "She usually calls me when she has a job to let me know what's going on." He switched arms. "But I haven't heard from her since Thursday."

Jess smiled reassuringly. "I'm sure everything is fine Schmidt. She's just got a lot going on."

"Yeah, yeah, a lot. A lot of modeling. Going on." Nick rambled.

Suddenly Schmidt stopped stretching and glared at Nick. "You know something." he said, his eyes squinting in Nick's direction.

"What?" Nick got up off the stool and started scrambling backwards. "What do you mean? Me? I don't know anything. About anything? Nope, nothing." He took a few more steps backwards.

Schmidt advanced on him. "Nick, you're sweating like a hooker in church. Out with it."

Nick waved his arms in front of him. "Out with what? What? There's nothing to be out with."

Jess hopped off her stool at this point. Schmidt was getting dangerously close to Nick, a determined look in his eyes. If she didn't stop this soon, Nick was going to fold like a lawn chair.

"Schmidt, he doesn't know anything because theres nothing to know!" She took a step so she was between the two men. "If you're so worried about Cece, than call her! Go to her apartment!" She placed her hands on Schmidt's chest to keep him away from Nick. Suddenly the door to the loft opened.

"What about Cece?" Cece said as she closed the loft door behind her.

**A/N**

**Just a quick heads up! I start university on Monday so updates are going to be even more sporadic than they already are. I'm still going to try and upload a chapter a week, but there is no way I can guarantee it. :(**

**AGAIN; PLEASE REVIEW! MWAH! :)**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

"What about Cece?" Cece said as she closed the loft door behind her.

Jess quickly swiveled her head but before she could utter one word, Schmidt advanced on her.

"Cece, what's going on?" He demanded, accusation lacing his voice. He brought up his right hand and pointed over at Nick and Jess. "What do they know that I don't?"

Jess swiftly turned and grabbed Nick by the shoulders, pushing him back towards their bedrooms. "Umm… I think you two should, uh, talk. We're just going to…." and, under Cece's murderous stare, she shoved Nick hard toward her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" Jess rounded on Nick, who shuffled on his feet looking uncomfortable. He shrugged his shoulder and gave her puppy dog eyes.

"I dunno Jess. You know I'm horrible at keeping secrets!" Nick sat down hard on the bed, grabbing a pillow and holding it to his chest in a protective gesture, like Jess was going to smack him. Which, she had to admit, was sorely tempting.

Jess sighed heavily and plopped down on the bed next to Nick. "I know." She groaned and lay back on the bed, legs still dangling over the side. "Cece is going to be so mad…." She threw her arms up and covered her eyes. Maybe if she laid there long enough she could will herself to forget that she had ever blurted about Cece's pregnancy to Nick.

Nick grimaced. He didn't know what came over him when it came to secrets. He hated secrets since he was a kid and his dad would lie to him about where he was going, or when he was going to be back. Hell, Nick didn't even know that his dad was a con man until he was fifteen.

Nick pried Jess's arms off her eyes. "Jess?" She looked over at him. "I'm sorry."

Jess sighed and sat back up. "It's ok. It's my fault anyway. Cece asked me to keep it a secret and I just had to open my big mouth." She shook her head. "Stupid verbal diarrhea." she mumbled.

Nick was about to say something comforting when Jess's door swung open. "What the hell, Jess?!" Cece stood in the frame, hands on hips, eyes squinted and glaring at Jess. "I told you not to say anything." Her head swiveled to Nick, "you know, don't you?" It wasn't a question. Cece knew that he knew, whether he would admit it or not.

Nick rubbed his hand down his face and looked up at Cece apologetically. "Yeah." He mumbled, looking at Cece but not really looking at her. In fact, his eyes were focused just above her head. He didn't need to be glared at by Cece this early in the morning. And, in all honesty, the woman scared the crap out of him.

"Cece, I'm sorry!" Jess pleaded, getting up off the bed and walking towards her best friend, her arms raised, palms up in a surrender gesture. "I don't know what happened! One second we were talking about nothing and the next…" Jess's shoulders slumped and she stared at the floor. "Sorry…" she mumbled again not looking at Cece.

"Well sorry isn't good enough!" Cece stormed out of the room, headed for the loft door.

"No, wait, Cece…" Jess chased after her catching up to her right as she got to the door. Jess grabbed her elbow but Cece turned and smacked her hand away.

"I can't believe you did that, Jess!" Cece shouted at her. "I wanted to tell him in my own time, I wanted to tell him when I was ready, but now…" She waved over at Schmidt's closed door. She shook her head. "He knows, by the way." She sniffled and reached for the door. "I can't be here right now, I just…. I have to go."

"Cece…"

"No! I asked you to do ONE thing. I… Just leave me alone." She turned the knob and walked out of the loft leaving Jess standing next to the door, her face crestfallen. She hated to upset anyone, let alone her best friend. Her shoulders stooped, she felt arms encircle her waist from behind.

"Jess?" Nick asked, placing his chin on her shoulder.

Jess shrugged him off. "I have to go to work." she said flatly, making her way towards her bedroom, not looking at Nick. Nick watched her go, not stopping her. He knew she needed time to think so he was going to let her. But not for long. Nick knew the longer he let her stew, the more upset she would get.

But for now, he would leave her be.

* * *

Three days later.

Nick sat on the couch, feet propped up on the coffee table, cold Heisler in hand. He glanced at his phone for what had to be the hundredth time, sighing to himself. It was a little after 1:00am and Jess still wasn't home. The two had barely spoken the last couple of days after Cece had stormed out of the loft. Cece wouldn't speak to Jess and Jess was upset. She had become more and more quiet and distant; only speaking when spoken to. She wouldn't make direct eye contact with Nick, and only gave him little perfunctory kisses on the cheek. It was unnerving. Nick wasn't used to seeing Jess like this. As much as bubbly cheerful, singing god damn disney songs all day Jess annoyed him, he missed her. He missed the way she would hum while making her tea, the little smile she would give him when she caught his eye…

Nick aggressively clicked the remote to change the channel, some infomercial about a strainer that you put in the pan to strain pasta appeared on the screen when he heard shuffling outside the door. He heard a key being inserted into the look before the door flew open and a disheveled Jess stumbled into the apartment, wavering on three inch spiked heels.

"NICHOLAS!" she shouted as Nick stood up from the couch and raised his eyebrows at her. "Niiiiiccccckkkkkk…." she slurred, stumbling her way over to him and wrapping one arm sloppily around his neck. The heels made her almost as tall as him and she was able to lean into his shoulder.

"Jess?" Nick wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her from falling, brushing her bangs out of her eyes with his free hand. Jess giggled throwing her other arm around his neck.

"Nick! Alcohol… alcohol is amaze… " she giggled again, "amazing. It makes me feel warm. And fuzzy. Do I feel warm?" She pulled her arms from around his neck to press her palms into his cheeks.

Nick reached up and pulled her hands from his face. "You're drunk." He said, putting his hands on her waist once more as she swayed on her feet.

"You should be a detective!" She gasped suddenly, hitting his chest repeatedly with her hands. "You should be Julius Pepperwood!" She placed her palms flat on his chest. "And I could be Jessica Night! We could fight crime!" She giggled again, looking up at him with piercing blue eyes.

Nick shook his head. "Alright." He said quietly, bending down to swoop her up into his arms. "I think sleep is in order." He said as he made his way towards his room.

"Yay! Sex!" Jess said as he placed her back on her feet at the foot of his bed. She suddenly threw herself at him wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him sloppily, running her hands through his hair.

"Jess…. no…. stop…" Nick said, attempting to pull away from her, which only seemed to motivate Jess more. She reached down and started to unbutton the front of his shirt.

"Have I told you how hot you are?" Jess said pulling back from him. "Like really hot Like really stupid hot. With your stupid flannel and your stupid day old stubble." She began kissing him again. "Or with a tie… You should always wear a tie…" She brought her hands down to his belt buckle and began to undo the clasp.

Nick closed his eyes. He could taste the liquor from her kisses and feel her warm hands on his stomach. He shook his head and grabbed her hands before they could take this any further. As much as Nick wanted to throw her down on the bed and make her scream, he was not going to take advantage of her while she was in her current inebriated state.

"No, Jess." He said firmly, gripping her wrists tightly to prevent her from attempting to remove any more of his clothing. Jess looked up at him frowning, as small line forming between her brows.

"You don't want me?" Her lips trembled and tears pooled in her eyes as she took a step back from him.

"Jess." Nick reached out to her, wanting to pull her back into his arms, to take care of her, and also to keep her from falling. But Jess just stepped farther away from him.

"You don't want me." This time it wasn't a question but a flat out statement. Nick could see the hurt in her eyes as she wrapped her arms protectively around herself. "You don't want me…" she said it quieter this time, and suddenly, with impressive speed for being drunk, she spun around, threw the door open, and fled Nick's room.

Nick stood in shock silence for a minute before pinching the bridge of his nose. He hated dealing with drunk people. Especially drunk emotional people. But this was Jess. This was HIS Jess and dammit if he wasn't going to go over there and attempt to make her feel better.

Nick gently rapped his knuckles agains the wood of Jess's door. "Jess?" he said quietly. No response. Nick sighed, "Jess, I'm coming in, ok?"

"Ok." It was quiet. So quiet that Nick wasn't sure that he actually heard her. Nevertheless, Nick twisted the knob and entered her room. Jess was curled up on the mattress, her legs drawn up to her chest, facing away from the door where Nick stood. Her mass of curls was fanned around her head on the pillow. Nick heard a small sniffle.

"Jess?" he sat down on the mattress behind her placing a soft hand on her side, trying to get her to roll over to face him. After a few minutes of him rubbing his hand up and down her side she flipped over and laid on her back, staring up at the ceiling.

"I'm sorry." she whispered, a tear escaping her eye and rolling down the side of her face.. She sniffed again. "I'm sorry." She said again and a few more tears escaped. Jess suddenly let out a sob and began crying in earnest, twisting her head into the pillow.

Nick laid down next to her and pulled her into his arms, tucking her head under his chin. Jess tried to shove him away "You don't want me." she whispered against him as she continued to cry, shoving harder and harder away from him. Nick clasped her arms in his hands struggling to get her to lie still.

"Jess, stop it. Come on. You're going to give me a black eye if you don't quit flailing around like this." Jess stopped suddenly and buried her head in his chest, sobs wracking her body. Nick ran his hands up and down her back in a comforting gesture. Soon her cries subsided and she started to drift of to sleep.

Nick kissed the top of her head once she was asleep and whispered "I will always want you."

* * *

Jess awoke, squinting her eyes at the beam of sunlight streaming through her window. She groaned and flopped onto her back, head pounding as she took in her surroundings. Her dress from last night was neatly folded on her desk chair, her shoes were scattered by the bed. All Jess wore were her bra and panties. She sort of remembered trying to rip Nick's clothes off before running away and crying. But that was it. Everything else was a blur. Why had she been crying?

Jess slowly sat up, her head pounding and her mouth dry. Water. She needed water, lots and lots of water. Jess sighed and ran a hand through her tangled hair. She eased herself off the mattress, shuffling towards the door and grabbing her pink rob off the hook. Trying to make as little movement as possible to prevent furthering her headache, Jess shoved her arms through the sleeves and tied the robe around her. She groaned as her bedroom door squeaked when she opened it. Stupid door.

As Jess dragged her feet towards the kitchen she heard the distinct clatter of pans. Then Schmidt's whine broke through the fog in her head.

"Niiick! You are dirtying up prized Alessi cookware you animal! Thats part of a $4300 set!"

"You spent $4300 on dishes?!" Nick sounded flabbergasted.

"Not dishes! A set! A collection if you will. Of the finest saucepans and skillets known to man."

Jess rounded the iron door and shuffled through the living room. She saw Nick lift a skillet and turn it several times in his hand.

"Looks like a regular skillet to me." he said.

"To a layman, like yourself, it would. But it cooks more evenly and faster, the heat distribution alone…"

"Jess!" Nick practically shouted she he saw her, causing her to close her eyes and hold her hand up.

"Quiet…" she moaned as she sat down on one of the barstools, placing her elbows on the counter and holding her pounding head in her hands. Nick silently filled up a glass of water and grabbed the container of aspirin from the cabinet. He placed both in front of jess who whispered. "Thank you" as she palmed two aspirin, throwing them into her mouth and downing the glass of water.

"Ugh." She said, laying her cheek against the cool countertop and closing her eyes. "What happened yesterday?" She asked softly, eyes still closed.

"You drank. A lot." Nick said, grabbing the pancake batter and a bowl. When Jess was hungover she ate pancakes with strawberry syrup, Nick knew. He wanted to talk to her about what happened last night, but Schmidt still stood there, leaning against the fridge and glaring at Nick.

"I figured that much." Jess still had her head down as Nick poured the pancake mix into the bowl.

Nick turned towards the fridge, wanting to pull out milk, but Schmidt still blocked him. "You want to move?" he asked.

"Not until you promise to clean those when you're done. And I mean spotless. If I see one speck of anything on that cookware…"

"Schmidt, even if I clean them you will complain that they're not clean enough and redo it. Are we really going to have this argument? Move!" He shoved Schmidt off the door and reached in.

"Fine! Whatever. Do whatever the hell you want Nick." Schmidt stormed off to his room, slamming the door behind him causing Jess to groan and lift her head up off the counter.

"What was that all about?" She asked, rubbing her forehead.

"Cece. What else."

And then Jess remembered. Cece hadn't spoken to her since she had blurted to Nick that she was pregnant. That was why she had gone to a bar last night and drank…. oh god, how much did she drink? What did she drink? She rubbed her forehead trying to remember. Didn't they have little plastic umbrellas in them?

While Jess was busy pondering her adventures with alcohol, Nick had finished mixing the pancake batter and had scooped the first pancake out onto the skilled. Letting one side turn a golden brown, he grabbed the spatula and flipped the pancake over to cook it evenly. When it finished, he slid the pancake onto a plate, smothering it in strawberry syrup and placing it in front of Jess.

"Eat." he ordered, gesturing towards the plate with the spatula before turning and dropping another cup of batter onto the skillet.

"You know how to make pancakes?" Jess asked as she picked up a fork and cut of piece of pancake with it. The man was an enigma. He burned pasta, made runny eggs, but he could cook pancakes? Jess shook her head as she shoveled the first bite into her mouth, groaning in pleasure.

"Oh my god, these are amazing." She moaned, closing her eyes as she chewed. She quickly cut off another piece and shoved that in her mouth. Nick grinned over at her.

"It' just a pancake, Jess."

"It's an amazing pancake, Miller." She finished it off and Nick picked her plate up, placing another on it. Jess's headache was beginning to subside and she was starting to feel like herself again. She quickly covered the pancake in syrup.

"I think I should be apologizing to you and thanking you at the same time." She said quietly when she finished, looking down at her plate and refusing to meet Nick's eyes as he turned off the stove and faced her.

"For what." he asked as he made his way around the counter with his own plate and sat down next to her.

Jess shrugged her shoulders, feeling defeated. "Everything." Nick turned in his seat giving her a quizzical look. She took a deep breath. "First, thank you for taking care of me last night. I was an idiot and… well… thank you." She gave him the tiniest of smiles.

"Jess…"

"No let me finish." She twisted her hands nervously in her lap and took a deep breath. "I don't like when people are angry with me. Especially when it's my fault. It makes me feel icky. Like I'm tainted. And then to make things worse, I take it out on other people." She looked up at him then, sadness filling her eyes. "Like you. I know I've been really quiet and distant with you the last few days and I'm sorry. It's not your fault. It's mine. Just…" She paused and twisted her mouth. "You… you know that I love you, right?"

Nick reached out and pulled her into his arms, kissing her temple and brushing a stray strand of hair off of her face. "I know. And I love you too." He kissed her once more before pulling her back from his chest. "It's ok. I know you were upset. I know what it's like to fight with your best friend." He quickly glanced over at Schmidt's room before shaking his head.

Jess smiled at him. "Thank you for being so understanding." She leaned in again and wrapped her arms around him. The hug was comforting to both of them and they remained like that for several minutes before pulling away. Nick squeezed her shoulders.

"Cece still hasn't called?" He asked quietly.

Jess looked down at the ground. "No."

"Hey," Nick tilted her head up with his index finger. "She will. Promise."

Jess tilted her head to the side and stared at him. "How do you know?"

"Because she needs you as much as I do."

**A/N**

**I'm so glad I finally got time to write this! The first week of school was hectic so I wasn't sure if I was going to get around to it or not. But I did! Woot!**

**Also: Thank you for sticking with this story. I was trying to finish it before the new season starts but with the chaos that is my life right now, I just don't see it happening. My new goal is to finish it by mid-October! So I hope you awesome Roomfriends stick around until then!**

**Next chapter: Halloween! (and it's going to be awesome.!)**

**Please Review!**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N**

**Ok, so I wanted to do a Halloween chapter for SO LONG and here it is! I know a bunch of you wanted to see a couples costume but I have a feeling you might like my idea better (plus I couldn't think of an acceptable Nick/Jess coupley costume). Furthermore, this is pure fluff.. And I will ****_NOT_**** apologize for it. The chapter after this is going to be a LOT more angsty.**

**ENJOY! (Please Review too! I really do appreciate them. They give me massive amounts of encouragement! :) )**

**(also: Happy Birthday amessofness! (it's a Halloween chapter, so, it counts!) Hope you like it!)**

Chapter 17

"Nick! Hurry up! You're going to be late!" Jess yelled from her perch on the couch. Her legs were curled up underneath her, hair up in a messy bun on her head, her glasses dangling on the edge of her nose. She had just gotten home about an hour ago from school and she was still in full teacher mode. Papers were spread out on the couch beside her and on the coffee table. She absentmindedly chewed on the edge of the pen in her hand. Jess was trying to finish the papers she had promised her students she would hand back in class tomorrow. Emphasis on trying.

The problem was, tonight was Halloween. It was always one of Jess's favorite holidays and she was antsy to get her costume on. It was a surprise for Nick. Something she knew he would love. But she couldn't do that until she finished this never ending stack of papers engulfing her.

"Nick?" she yelled down the hallway again.

"I'm coming Jess, hold on woman!" Jess heard Nick's muffled yell through the door to his room and she smiled.

Nick's bar was having a special for Halloween, half priced drinks to anyone who showed up in costume. The entire staff was required to wear a costume to work, much to Nick's chagrin. He looked at himself in the mirror one last time, running his hand along the rim of the fedora adorning his head. He pat his pockets making sure his I.D. was in there, feeling the bulge of the wallet. He took a deep breath and exited the room.

When Nick rounded the iron door, he found Jess now sitting on the floor, her back to the couch with her knees drawn up to her chest. She grimaced down at the paper she had balanced on her knees as she brought her read pen down to make a note. When she heard Nick's shoes make a slight squeak, she looked up, her mouth dropping open as her pen fell out of her grasp. She got up quickly, knocking the papers off of her knees and made her way over to wear Nick was. He was giving her a sly grin as he looked at her, his eyes hooded under his fedora.

"I… I just… wow." Jess said as she stopped in front of him, her fingers running along the collar of his suit. Nick looked like he had stepped out of the 1920s. He wore an old pinstriped black suit with a vest, a black trench coat hung loosely around his shoulders and a fedora adorned his head. Jess just sat there ogling him. He looked so ridiculously attractive.

"Never take that off." She said quietly as she ran her hand up his chest and raised on her tiptoes to give him a kiss. Nick smiled against her lips.

When they broke apart, Jess wrapped her arms around his waist as she stared up at him. "Who are you supposed to be exactly though?"

Nick gave her a megawatt smile as he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out an I.D. like an FBI agent would have. He flipped the I.D. open and held it up to show her what it said.

Jess squealed as she took it out of his hands. "Julius Pepperwood. Zombie Detective. Nick, this is fantastic!" She ran her hand over the glossy photo of Nick in his fedora. "Where did you get this?" She asked, looking back up at him, her eyes twinkling.

"Schmidt. I didn't ask how he made it. Some things you just don't want to know." He took the I.D. out of her hand and put it back in his pocket. Glancing over at the time, he swore. "I gotta go, Jess." He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to him quickly giving her a quick passionate kiss. When he pulled away he tipped his hat to her. "See you later, Doll."

Jess winked at him. "You sure will, handsome."

* * *

Jess flung her red pen down, exasperated and exhausted. Stupid papers that needed stupid grading. Ugh. She rubbed her eyes and picked up her cell to check the time. 7:30. It took her 2 hours to grade those papers. She leaned her head back against the couch, resting for just a second.

"For the last time, I am NOT going out with you dressed like that!"

"Why? You afraid of my game, Winston?'

"You're in a relationship now, you officially have no game."

Jess opened her eyes and swiveled her head to wear the voices were coming from. She immediately raised her eyebrows. Schmidt was Superman., but not normal Superman. He was shirtless, Jewish Superman. He wore the tiniest red spandex underwear and on his chest he had painted the superman logo, but instead of the normal design, the large S was encompassed in the Star of David.

Winston was also dressed in a superhero fashion, but his costume was your typical superhero costume. He was The Flash, dressed in all red, yellow lighting bolt emblazoned on his chest.

"We agreed to go as superheroes. Not douchey superheroes." Winston complained, hands on hips

Schmidt glared at him. "Winston, superheroes are hot right now. There in. You wanna get laid tonight? This is how. And so what if I added my own flare to it?"

"You want to make up you're own superhero? Fine! How about Tiny Nipple Man?"

"Oh yeah, The Flash? Are you trying to tell women how long it will last?"

"Schmidt…"

'GUYS!" Jess stood up, hands on hips, glaring at the two of them. "Can you argue somewhere else please? You're giving me a headache." She rubbed her temples for emphasis.

"Sorry Jess." Winston mumbled, making his way over to her. "What are you still doing here? Thought you were meeting Nick at the bar hours ago."

Jess twisted her mouth. "I had work to do." she grumbled, giving the stack of papers now resting on the coffee table the evil eye.

"Well, get going girl! Don't leave Nick waiting!" Winston clapped her on the shoulder. "Just don't give him a heart attack." He grinned at her, waggling his eyebrows as he headed towards the door, Schmidt trailing behind him.

"Hey, Schmidt." Jess reached out, clutching his elbow. Schmidt turned to face her, raising his eyebrows questioningly. Jess shifted nervously from foot to foot. "How's Cece doing?" She asked quietly. Cece still hadn't spoken to her since the day she told Nick about her pregnancy. It had been three weeks. Cece was deliberately avoiding the apartment, she wouldn't answer her calls or texts. Schmidt didn't even bother asking her to come over, instead he chose to stay out of the whole situation, agreeing to spend more time at her place.

Schmidt sighed heavily. "She's ok, Jess. She just needs some time."

Jess looked down at her feet and nodded. "Yeah, ok." she said quietly.

"Hey." Schmidt grabbed her shoulder, "come here." he pulled her in for a quick hug. Jess leaned into his shoulder and hugged him back. "She'll come around, ok. Just give her time." He gave her a final squeeze before releasing her.

"No go get dressed!" He said with a flourish as he headed out of the apartment. "and I fully expect the sex to happen tonight, but for the love of god, will you two at least TRY to keep it down."

Jess wrinkled her nose at him. "Schmidt!"

"What? We've all heard your loud exclaims to the Cristian deity."

"Oh my God."

"Exactly."

Jess swiveled around and ran to her room "Thirty in the jar before you leave!" she yelled back over her shoulder as she shut her bedroom door.

* * *

Nick flipped the martini shaker in the air and poured a generous amount into the glass. He smiled up at the woman dressed as a cat. " Four fifty." he said. The woman literally purred at him as she handed him a ten.

"Keep the change." she said as she grabbed the martini glass and winked at him. Nick shook his head. Half priced drinks was bringing everyone out. He hated working on holidays, especially holidays with drink specials. Everyone became intoxicated way too fast and fights broke up everywhere. He had already broken up a brawl between a guy dressed as a fire fighter and an idiot in spandex. Nick didn't even want to know what he was supposed to be.

Nick wiped his brow for what felt like the hundredth time. It was boiling inside the bar. Nick had already removed his trench coat and the suit jacket but he was still hot. He snatched the cloth from his shoulder and threw it on the bar before rolling up the sleeves of his white dress shirt. When he looked up he noticed the woman staring at him across the bar.

"Hi." she said giving him a little smile. She was pretty, in a completely obvious way. Her long curly red hair reached her elbows, she had big green eyes…. and she was dressed in one of the more revealing outfits of the night. Nick liked to call it the "slutty cowgirl" look.

Nick wiped the bar in front of her and threw a napkin down. "What can I get ya?" he asked, cocking his head to the side.

The woman bit her cherry red lips. "Hmmm… how about a sex on the beach." she said, a hint of suggestion in her voice as she eyed Nick appreciatively.

Nick nodded and grabbed the vodka and peach schnapps from behind the bar. He mixed in the cranberry juice, orange juice and the creme de cassis before placing the glass in front of the woman and adding a small little yellow umbrella and a red straw. "Seven fifty" he smiled at her.

She beamed at him as she handed him a twenty. Nick counted out her change and handed it back to her. When the woman grabbed it from him, she let her hand linger just a tad too long. "I'm Cydni." she said as she took the change out of his hand.

"Nick."

"Nice to meet you, bartender Nick. And just what are you supposed to be tonight?" She asked as she placed the straw in between her lips. "Mafia guy?"

Nick grimaced. "Detective actually."

"Hmmm… interesting." she twirled the straw in her fingers.

Nick didn't know why, but he suddenly had the urge to clarify "To be more specific, I'm a zombie detective."

The woman, Cydni, paused and raised her eyebrows at him "Zombie detective? But… aren't they all already dead? What exactly are you… detecting?"

Nick laughed. "It's a work in progress." he grinned at her.

Cydni let out a throaty laugh. "Well, the look is working for ya." She waggled her eyebrows at him.

Nick was about to respond when he caught a glimpse of white at the opposite end of the bar. Then his mouth dropped open. Jess stood there. She wore a white cap with a red cross on her pinned up curls and a skin tight white nurses uniform hugged her in all the right places. Nick made his way over to her ignoring Cydni who was waving at him trying to get his attention.

"J-Jess?" He said as he stopped and stared at her his eyes wandering up and down her body. Her uniform, and he used the term lightly, was unbuttoned and revealed a generous amount of flesh. Nick was sure that he was NOT the only one currently ogling his girlfriend.

"That's Nurse Day to you." she responded with a giggle, holding up the stethoscope that was around her neck. "Are you feeling alright Mr. Pepperwood? You're looking a little flush."

"Uhhh…" Nick couldn't form coherent words and he was pretty sure his mouth was permanently hanging open.

Jess giggled again. "Mr. Pepperwood, it looks like you're having trouble breathing. Maybe I should take you home so you can lie down. I can tend to you better there." she gave him a flirty wink.

"Yeah… yeah, lets… lets do that." he looked over at the clock. 12:30. His shift ended at 1:00. "Hey Bob!" he yelled down the bar at Big Bob who looked at him, then spotted Jess and raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah?"

"Can you cover my last half hour? I gotta uh…" He looked over at Jess who was trying to hide a smile and then back to Bob, grinning.

"Go." Bob said looking back at Jess. "Lucky bastard." he mumbled under his breath.

Nick walked out from behind the bar and grabbed Jess's hand ushering her towards the door. They were about halfway there when Jess stopped him. "Wait! You're fedora!"

Nick looked at her incredulously. "I can grab it tomorrow." He said tugging her again but she didn't move. "Jess?"

Jess looked at him under her lashes. "Could you uh… grab it… it… I think I… It might come in handy." she gave him a wry smile.

Nick raised his eyebrows up at her and wordlessly went back to the bar to fetch the fedora. Placing it on his head he walked back over to Jess and grabbed her hand once more. "So the hat does it for you, huh?"

Jess let out a tinkering laugh. "You do it for me, Miller. The hat is just a lovely dressing."

"Lets get out of here Dollface."

"Whatever you say, Detective."


End file.
